Box Score LACEY, Wash. – Claire Dingus' 23 points, and 13 rebounds lifted the Saints to a victory over Western Oregon in the opening round of the GNAC Championships.
 
After a slow start with eight first quarter points, Saint Martin's exploded with 22 points in the second quarter and never looked back. The Saints led for the rest of the game, sealing their date with top-seed Western Washington on Thursday at 2:15 PM. Dingus, Tierney DeDonatis, and Josie Matz combined for 54 of the Saints' 71 points. DeDonatis finished with six rebounds, and seven assists.
 
Saint Martin's scored the first basket of the game nearly four minutes into the match. Western Oregon closed out the quarter with a quick 6-2 run to take a 12-8 lead.
 
The Wolves' lead hit as many as six before the Saints quickly erased and took the lead on a layup from Lauryn Morris at the 6:24 mark. A 9-0 run by the Saints put themselves up by seven with 3:34 left. Saint Martin's held on for a 30-24 lead at the halftime break.
 
An opening 3-pointer by Josie Matz gave Saint Martin's a nine-point lead, their largest of the game. After Western Oregon cut the lead down to one in the third, the Saints roared back to life, opening up an 11-point.
 
Western Oregon continued to test the Saints' defense, working a double-digit deficit down to just one again with 2:26 left on the clock. Despite the Saints not converting a field goal in the final 5:27 of the game, the game was won at the free throw line. Saint Martin's converted the final 14 of 16 free throws attempts to seal the victory.
 
Saint Martin's advances to the quarterfinals of the tournament to face the top seeded Western Washington Vikings. Live stats and video will be available on smusaints.com.