The Saint Martin's University men’s and women’s basketball teams beat their counterparts from the Northwest Nazarene University on Jan. 25.
The women defeated the visitors 79-58, while the men came back from a 15-point deficit to win 58-54 in Great Northwest Athletic Conference (GNAC) contests.
The women improved to a 4-6 in conference play and are in sixth place, while the men improved to 7-3 in the conference and are tied for first.
Saint Martin’s rookie Jada Travis had her best game of the season, as the 5-foot, 5-inch guard led the Saints to the victory over Northwest Nazarene. She scored a season-high 28 points, along with six assists, four boards and three steals.
“Jada (Travis) was in her bag. I haven't seen many freshmen handle themselves the way she did against pressure and different defensive coverages,” said women’s head coach Natalie Marlowe.
The Saints started with a pulsating 29-12 first quarter behind the hot shooting of Travis, while Kiana Ross and Avery Oaster also contributed to the tally with 3-pointers.
The Saints held a 40-30 lead at halftime before going on to win 79-58.
Supplementing the Saints’ scoring was Kiana Ross, who contributed a double-double with 12 points and 10 rebounds, while Oaster had 14 points on 6 of 7 shooting from the field.
“We played some beautiful basketball; touch passes, and confident finishes in transition were a huge part of our success. We needed this one to build some confidence going into a big road trip next weekend," Marlowe said.
Next up for the Saints will be Simon Fraser in British Columbia on Saturday, Feb. 1.
In one of the biggest games of the season, the Saints mounted a 15-point comeback late in the second half to get past the visiting Nighthawks, 58-54, as both teams vie for the playoff spots in the conference.
The Saints started with a flurry of threes from Marcel Stevens, Myles Samuels and Diego Trejo-Delgado to open an early 14-10 lead.
But the Nighthawks responded with a run of their own while capitalizing on turnovers and errors of the Saints to reverse their fortunes.
The Saints tried to keep up with the rhythm, but the Nighthawks ended the first half with a 33-26 advantage.
The woes continued for the Saints, as the Nighthawks built their lead to 45-30 in the first seven minutes of the second half.
Fortunately, the Saints picked the right time to get it going, as they tightened their defense behind Dyson Lighthall and Immanuel Oludele, who combined for 12 rebounds.
The Saints kept cutting the lead through the shooting of Omar Ege Peksari and Trejo-Delgado, while the defense forced turnovers inside the arc.
Jade Nielsen-Skinner sunk the game-tying 3-pointer to make the score 54-54. A Lighthall layup, and two free throws by Nielsen-Skinner completed the comeback victory for the Saints.
"This past Saturday was a huge step forward for us, not just in the GNAC race, but in how we played from behind and stayed together when things weren't going well. Great teams get better as the game goes on, and tonight, we did that.” said men’s head coach Aaron Landon.
This is a vital follow-up to their earlier win over GNAC contenders Central Washington, 67-55, where Jaden Nielsen-Skinner flirted with a triple-double with 10 points, eight assists, and a season-high seven steals.
Next up for the Saints will be Seattle Pacific in Seattle on Saturday, Feb. 1.
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Annierae
Go Saints! Well played, Jada!!
Friday, January 31 Report this