LACEY, Wash. – After becoming nationally-ranked for the first time in program history, #25 Saint Martin's had no easy task in their GNAC opener, falling to #1 Alaska Anchorage 66-58 on Thursday night.
 
The Seawolves' (6-0. 1-0) defense swarmed the Saints (5-2, 0-1) forcing 25 turnovers. Despite the turnovers, Saint Martin's own defense kept them in the game, limiting UAA to only 35.9 percent from the field. Rian Clear (17 points), Claire Dingus (14 points), and Tierney DeDonatis (12 points) combined for 43 of the Saints' 58 points.
 
Saint Martin's held UAA scoreless for the opening four minutes, with a basket from Dingus to make it a 3-0 ballgame. The Saints held on to a lead throughout most of the first quarter until late back-to-back baskets for the Seawolves gave them a 10-8 lead.
 
The Saints tied the game multiple times in the second quarter, eventually taking a 19-18 lead with 3:22 left on a 3-pointer from Clear. However, the Seawolves responded right back with a 9-0 run and took a six-point lead into halftime.
 
The offense began to pick up for both sides in the second half as the Saints continuously cut the score down too just six points. Alaska Anchorage responded each time with a counter of their own to push the lead back into double-digits.
 
With just six minutes left in the fourth quarter, the Saints trimmed the lead down to just two on a 3-pointer from DeDonatis. The defense of the Seawolves buckled down in the final minutes, limiting SMU to two field goals, and UAA escaped Lacey with the eight point victory.
 
Saint Martin's returns to action on Saturday night, taking on Alaska at 3:00 PM. Live stats and video will be available on smusaints.com.
 
A Look Into The Numbers:

• Clear finished 7-for-14 from the field with eight rebounds
• Dingus was a perfect 10-for-10 at the free throw line
• Dingus added eight rebounds, and five assists to her 14 points
• Saint Martin's outrebounded Alaska Anchorage 38-to-36