HELENA, Mont. – The 19th ranked Carroll College women's basketball team held No. 11 MSU-Northern 24 points short of their season average but fell 50-48 Thursday at the PE Center on a last second shot by reining NAIA National Player of the Week Ajha Edwards.
The Skylights held a 44-34 advantage with 7:52 remaining in the game before
Bailey Snelling kicked off a Carroll run. Snelling hit four three pointers in the last seven minutes of the game, the last trey tied the game at 48 with 1:11 remaining.
MSU-Northern missed two shots, the first was rebounded by Megan Feldman and the second was tied up in a jump ball with MSU-Northern possession.
The Lights had one more chance. With two seconds left, an air ball was put back by Edwards, giving the MSUN the lead and the victory.
"I thought we went toe-to-toe with the No. 11 team in the country," head coach
Rachelle Sayers said. It was tough to lose a game on an air ball. We defended like crazy all night. We forced them into some tough shots but then at critical times we just didn't stay attached on the box out and give them enough easy ones to win."
Bailey Snelling scored 23 points and
Cassidy Hashley added 14 to lead the Saints.
Hashley's point total is impressive for a freshman battling against an All-American caliber center.
"Northern is a great team," Sayers said. "I thought we battled them all night. Bailey was amazing down the stretch and Cassi just keeps getting better. To have 14 on a 6-5 senior on 7-14 shooting is amazing.
Baylee Watson gave a strong performance on the defensive end of the court.
"I thought Baylee did a tremendous job defensively for us," Sayers said. "I think we found a plan that we like against them, just didn't get enough contributions offensively tonight, especially from our bench. But, tomorrow is a new day and we have another big one to get ready for."
The Saints face the University of Great Falls Saturday at 5:30 at the PE Center in the second game of the week. The Argos were the first team outside of the NAIA Top-25.
The Game will be broadcast on 94.9 ESPN Radio and on ESPNMontana.com.
