NAMPA, Idaho – Despite a double-double from Claire Dingus at 22 points, 12 rebounds, Saint Martin's fell 78-65 to Northwest Nazarene on the road Saturday night.
 
Following up her 23-point, 7-rebound night against Central Washington on Thursday, Dingus led the Saints (9-6, 1-5 GNAC) with her sixth 20+ performance of the season. Tierney DeDonatis and Lauryn Morris added 13 points each, with Morris grabbing eight rebounds. Along with Rian Clear's nine points, the four combined for 57 of the Saints' 65 points on the day.
 
DeDonatis connected on the first basket of the game, a 3-pointer off an assist from Dingus. Northwest Nazarene (11-4, 5-2 GNAC scored the next nine points to take the lead. The Nighthawks' lead reached as much as 14 in the opening quarter and carried a 27-14 edge into the second quarter.
 
The Saints' offense went on a five-minute drought in the second quarter, allowing the Nighthawks to build up a 20-point lead. Saint Martin's closed out the final two minutes on a 7-0 run, highlighted by another 3-pointer from DeDonatis to close the gap to 42-29 at halftime.
 
The run continued into the second half on two layups from Dingus, including an and-one as the Saints got the lead into single digits. Both sides traded baskets back-and-forth throughout the third quarter with NNU taking a 54-45 lead into the final ten minutes.
 
Saint Martin's cut the lead down to as little as seven in the fourth, before the Nighthawks were able to knock down a couple shots, and ice the game at the line. Northwest Nazarene held on for the 78-65 win.
 
Saint Martin's returns to Marcus Pavilion on Thursday, January 27 to host nationally ranked Western Washington at 5:15 PM. Live stats and video of the game will be available on smusaints.com.