Box Score



NAMPA, Idaho — It was the fantastic start the Crusaders needed, and it changed the way they played all night.

The Northwest Nazarene women's basketball team made its first five shots of the night and opened up a 13-point lead early on St. Martin's, setting the tone for a very good night as the Crusaders scored a 73-67 win over the Saints in Great Northwest Athletic Conference play Saturday at the Johnson Sports Center.

"It totally sets the tone because we've seen the other side of it almost every game," said NNU head women's basketball coach Ryan Bragdon, whose team has been fashioning fantastic comeback after comeback.

No need Saturday, though, as the Crusaders lead almost throughout thanks to a fast start.

"That's what we've been talking about and that's what we've been working through: Why do we do that?" Bragdon asked of his team's slow starts this season. "I'm not sure we got an answer, but we showed something different tonight, so that's more like it."

Taylor Simmons capped the 5-of-5 early flurry with a pull-up jumper, and NNU held a 10-0 lead just 2 minutes into the action.
 

A Lexi Tubbs 3-pointer stretched the Crusader lead to largest of the night — 15-2 — before the Saints began the work of chipping away.

St. Martin's made it all the way back, too, taking a 36-34 lead on a Brooke Paulson bucket.

That was an easy deficit for the Crusaders (3-4 overall, 1-1 GNAC) to erase, though, as two CoCo Gall free throws tied it, then an Ellie Logan 3-point play put NNU on top 39-36.

The Crusaders never trailed again, but did need a 7-0 run by Gall early in the second half to snap a 42-42 tie.

"That's all we talked about at halftime — almost all we talked about," Bragdon said of starting the second half as strong as the first half. "That's very important because we still have that edge because of our start, then to go out and do it again and force St. Martin's into having to claw their way back again — and we knew that was coming — but it is good to work from a lead."

Gall — who finished with 15 points and seven rebounds — hit three free throws and a pair of buckets in the charge, the final hoop putting NNU on top 49-42 with 16 minutes to go.

The Saints (2-6, 0-2) never got closer than three points down the rest of the way as NNU continually managed its lead, stretching it to as much as 66-55 on a Simmons basketball.

Simmons finished with a team-high 17 points and made four steals, while Cierra White, Tubbs and Logan each added nine points apiece in the Crusaders first GNAC win of the season.

"Feels great, especially that way," Bragdon said. "St Martin's is always tough, but any GNAC game, it's a big deal to win, it's hard."