LACEY, Wash. – In what was nearly an encore for the Saints, Seattle Pacific managed to stave off the Saints' comeback attempt in the fourth quarter and secure the 70-to-64 victory on Friday night.
Trailing by as many as 13 late in the third quarter, the Saints (3-4) opened the fourth quarter on a 10-0 run and got within two of tying the game. Unlike last night, Seattle Pacific (5-4) responded with a couple clutch baskets and iced the game at the free throw line to even the season series 2-2 against Saint Martin's.
Claire Dingus led the Saints in scoring with 21 points, along with four rebounds, and three steals in 38 minutes of action.
Tierney DeDonatis and
Mallory Vivola combined for 26 points, and were the only two other Saints to reach double-digits in scoring.
Seattle Pacific scored on the opening possession, and despite the Saints tying the game three times, the Falcons held the lead for the entire game. Back-to-back 3-pointers by Dingus and Vivola at the end of the quarter were answered by a pair of 3-pointers from SPU's Rachel Berg, who ended with 28 points, and seven 3-pointers.
The Falcons managed to stretch their lead to 12 by the midway point of the second quarter. Saint Martin's found some offense at the end of the half, with DeDonatis connecting on a layup, and a 3-pointer, and
Maryn Budiman driving for a basket, as SMU cut the lead to 41-32.
Saint Martin's managed to chip away at the lead at the start of the second half behind the efforts of Dingus,
Janealle Sutterlict, and
Lauryn Morris. The Saints pulled with five just three minutes into the half. But the Falcons responded right back, scoring 10 points in just four minutes, and jumping out to a 13-point lead.
At the start of the fourth,
Rian Clear converted an and-one play, and Vivola connected on back-to-back baskets. A Dingus layup capped off a 13-to-2 run and the Saints were back within two. However, the fourth quarter magic ran out of steam there, as Seattle Pacific managed to weather the storm, and pull back away for the victory.
The Saints shot 24-for-68 (35.3 percent) from the field, 8-for-27 (29.6 percent) beyond the arc, and 8-for-12 at the line. The Falcons out rebounded SMU 45-to-31, while the Saints collected 11 assists on 13 turnovers, along with eight steals and two blocks.
Saint Martin's continues their three week long home stand with a pair of games against Northwest Nazarene. First game is scheduled for Friday, February 12 at 6:00 PM. Live stats and video will be available on smusaints.com.
