by By Austin Byrnes
ELLENSBURG, Wash. – Against the preseason conference favorite Central Washington, Saint Martin’s was unable to get their offense turning in the 68-to-52 loss on Saturday night.
The game was tied on the opening possession of the second half at 30-30, but the Wildcats quickly began to pull away. Janealle Sutterlict (Yakama Nation) was the only Saint able to reach double-digits in scoring, leading with 11. Claire Dingus shadowed a double-double with eight points, and a team-high 11 rebounds.
Central Washington jumped to an early 9-3 lead, but the Saints quickly answered right back. With baskets from Bria Thames, and Jayla Russ, SMU managed to tie the game three different times in the quarter. Russ stepped back and knocked down a 3-pointer to send the game tied 14-14 into the second quarter.
The second quarter featured back-and-forth action, with the Saints and Wildcats trading basket after basket. Saint Martin’s managed to take a 21-18 lead on a Janealle Sutterlict 3-pointer at the 7:30 mark. However, Central Washington regained the lead on a 10-2 stretch, but another Sutterlict 3-pointer cut the score to 30-28 just before half.
Megan Nilsson tied the game in the third quarter on an opening layup, but the Wildcats connected on a 3-pointer to regain the lead, and never looked back. Saint Martin’s offense went cold throughout most of the quarter, while Central Washington capitalized on a 11-2 run. Offense from Makenna Schultz and Mallory Vivola down the stretch helped trim the lead to eight entering the final quarter of action.
In the final ten minutes, Central Washington continued to knock down shots, while the Saints’ offense was unable to find their rhythm. The lead stretched to as many as 21 as Central Washington defended their home court with a final score of 68-to-52.
Thames finished the night with six points and seven rebounds, while Russ added seven points, and three rebounds. Tierney DeDonatis, Emma Wrede, and Schultz combined for 12 points at the guard position off the bench.
Saint Martin’s shot 19-for-64 (29.7 percent) from the floor, 7-for-21 (33.3 percent) beyond the arc, and 7-for-9 (77.8 percent) at the line. On the night, the Saints collected 39 rebounds, with nine assists on 13 turnovers, along with four steals and one block.
The Saints return home to Marcus Pavilion for two non-conference match ups before the break, starting with Northwest Christian on Saturday, December 14. Tip-off is scheduled for 5:15 p.m. with live stats and video available on smusaints.com.
