Box Score

LACEY, Wash. — After enjoying a merry Christmas, the Crusaders started the second half of their season in a merry way — with a win.

The Northwest Nazarene women's basketball team went on a decisive 14-0 run to end the third quarter and open the fourth, grabbing a lead on host St. Martin's it never relinquished for a 67-61 win in Great Northwest Athletic Conference action Thursday night.

"They beat us in almost every stat category, but we won," NNU head coach Steve Steele said of his team's first game since Dec. 19, "and any win in the GNAC is a good one, especially on the road."

A see-saw battle, the host Saints erased a 38-36 Crusader advantage midway through the third quarter with a Hannah Reynolds 3-pointer and a Shelbie Drey bucket for a slim 41-38 edge.

Then the Crusaders (5-4 overall, 3-0 GNAC) took control.

A pair of Marina Vallés free throws started the charge, then back-to-back Colette Gall layups put NNU on top for good.

Ellie Logan and Kate Cryderman chipped in a layup apiece before the end of the period for a 48-41 Crusader lead, then Cryderman finished off a personal six-point run with two more lay-ins to give NNU a 52-41 lead 30 seconds into the final stanza.

An Ellie Logan bucket put the Crusaders on top as much as 56-42, then NNU held on for the win to remain perfect in GNAC play.

"I was really happy with the way we defended tonight," Steele said, adding, "I was not happy with how we rebounded.

"I thought we showed toughness by the way we gutted it out."

NNU was outrebounded 47-33 by the Saints, including a 26-14 edge on the offense boards, but the Crusader defense held St. Martin's to 19-of-60 (31.7 percent) shooting and forced 28 turnovers.

Logan led the Crusaders with 14 points in the win, and also dished out seven assists, Vallés added 12 points, and Danielle Jardine had six points and 11 rebounds for NNU.

Unbeaten in league play, the Crusaders now head to Seattle for an early-season first-place battle at No. 13 Seattle Pacific (11-0, 3-0) on New Year's Eve at 3 p.m. (Mountain Time).

The game also will be a homecoming for NNU's head coach, who spent the last three seasons as the top assistant coach for the Falcons.