SAN ANTONIO, Texas – It was a tale of two halves as the Saints toppled St. Mary's 63-61 to begin their Thanksgiving weekend trip to Texas.
 
Saint Martin's (5-0) rolled through the opening half, taking a 39-17 lead into the break. However, St. Mary's (0-5) began chipping away throughout the second half, eventually taking a 3-point lead with 1:15 left in the game. Once again, it was Claire Dingus, GNAC Player of the Week, winning the game for the Saints, hitting a clutch 3-pointer to tie, then winning the game at the free throw line with a pair of free throws.
 
The Rattlers led 5-3 early the first quarter before a 3-pointer from Tierney DeDonatis, who led the Saints with 18 points, put SMU on top. A lead the Saints held for nearly 30 minutes. Saint Martin's closed out the quarter on a 13-4 run.
 
After some back-and-forth action to begin the second quarter, the Saints opened a double-digit lead on a Fastbreak jumper from Janealle Sutterlict. By the end of the half, SMU went on a 13-0 run to extend to a 22-point lead.
 
St. Mary's began chipping away at the lead throughout the third quarter, getting the lead down to eight before a buzzer-beater 3-pointer from DeDonatis gave SMU a 54-43 lead heading into the fourth quarter.
 
The Saints' lead held until 1:44 left in the game on a layup from STMU to gain their first lead since early in the first quarter. Just like their two games in Oregon last week, the Saints needed a bucket down the stretch, and Dingus delivered.
 
The forward connected on her second 3-pointer of the night to tie the game, and after coming up with a stop on the defensive end, the Saints had an opportunity to tie. Once again, it was Dingus who the Saints turned too, and she drew a foul to put herself at the line. The All-American calmly knocked down both, and the Saints stopped a game-tying final shot by the Rattlers to hold on for a 63-61 victory.
 
The Saints return to action on Thanksgiving Day, traveling to Texas A&M International for an 11:30 AM PT game. Live stats and video of the game will be available on smusaints.com.
 
A Look Into The Numbers:

• DeDonatis shot 7-for-15 to lead the way with 18 points
• Dingus finished with a double-double at 14 points, 10 rebounds
• Emily Nelson and Lauryn Morris combined for 14 points, 10 rebounds, 4 assists
• Saint Martin's shot 10-for-20 beyond the arc
• The Saints scored nearly a third of their points on turnovers (20 points)