LACEY, Wash. – The referees for Saturday's Northwest Nazarene women's game showed up 30 minutes late because of a miscommunication about the start time.

It took the Nighthawks three quarters to get their communication lines down in the loud barn that is the Saint Martin's gym.

It worked out for both in the end, though, as the Nighthawks earned their seventh consecutive victory, defeating the Saints 71-52 in Great Northwest Athletic Conference action.

"It's really loud here. It's packed. It's senior night and you are playing a team that has to win to keep their playoff hopes alive," NNU coach Steve Steele said. "It took us awhile to get our communication lines down – the way we were trapping, rotating and switching. Once we got that ironed out we were able to make some adjustments."

The Nighthawks led 49-48 with 8 minutes, 11 seconds remaining before closing on a 22-4 run, including 14-0 in the final 4:44 of the quarter.

NNU (22-6 overall, 17-3 GNAC) head into next week's conference tournament at Seattle Pacific as the No. 2 seed, receiving a first-round bye. The Nighthawks will play the winner of No. 3 Western Washington and No. 6 Montana State Billings on Friday night.

"I think we have definitely surpassed expectations," Steele said of his team, which opened the season 2-3. "That is a testament to our kids. They trusted each other and what we do and trusted the process."

NNU went 9-1 in the second half of conference play with the lone loss to nationally-ranked Alaska Anchorage.

On Saturday with the Nighthawks leading 57-52, Clare Eubanks made a jumper and Avery Albrecht a layup to make it 61-52. Eubanks then made a layup and Marina Valles had a pair of steals and a pair of layups for a 67-52 lead. Valles added two free throws and Jordan Pinson two more to close out the decisive victory.

"I don't think I've ever coached a team that went 0-for-11 from the 3-point line and 7-of-14 from the free-throw line and won by 20," Steele said.

NNU has now won eight consecutive games against Saint Martin's, dating back to Feb. 26, 2015.

Valles finished with a team-high 18 points and eight steals. Nicole Gall added 11 points, Eubanks had 10 and four steals, Jenkins had 10 and McKenna Emerson had six steals.

Bria Thames had a game-high 20 points and 10 rebounds to lead Saint Martin's (14-13, 9-11), which was eliminated from postseason contention with the loss.