LACEY, Wash. - Saint Martin's opened the 2021 season with a daunting task of taking on nationally ranked Hawaii Pacific at home on Saturday afternoon. From opening tip to the final buzzer, the Saints dominated the game, defeating the Sharks 62-53.
The Saints (1-0) suffocated the Sharks (1-1) high octane offense all day, limiting Hawaii Pacific to only 18-for-67 (26.9 percent) shooting from the field. Saint Martin's dominated the boards, outrebounding HPU to a tune of 52-to-30.
Emily Nelson recorded her first double-double of the season, finishing with 11 points, and 13 rebounds.
Saint Martin's led early in the first quarter, extending a 10-6 lead after a 3-pointer from
Lauryn Morris, who led SMU with 13 points. However, Hawaii Pacific closed out the first quarter on an 11-3 run, including a buzzer beater half-court shot to take a 17-14 lead into the break.
However, the lead did not last long as the Saints tied the game at 20-20 on a layup from Nelson. Saint Martin's took the lead at 24-22 on a basket from
Rian Clear and never looked back. Before halftime, the Saints led by eight at 33-25, closing out the half on an 11-3 run of their own.
Saint Martin's stretched their lead to double digits with 6:04 left in the third quarter on a basket from
Claire Dingus, who ended with eight points, and 10 rebounds. A driving layup from
Tierney DeDonatis as the clock expired opened the Saints' lead to 49-36 heading into the final quarter.
SMU continued to dominate in the final ten minutes of action, extending their lead to game-high 17 points midway through the quarter. Saint Martin's coasted down the stretch to a comfortable 62-53 victory over a Hawaii Pacific that was 43-2 in their last 45 games.
As a team, Saint Martin's shot 20-for-57 (35.1 percent) from the field, and 5-for-19 (26.3 percent) beyond the arc, and 17-for-26 (65.4 percent) at the line. The Saints finished with 16 assists to 16 turnovers, along with four steals, and two blocks.
The Saint return to action on Tuesday, November 16 against Pacific Lutheran with tip-off scheduled for 7:00 PM. Live stats and video of the game will be available on smusaints.com
