BUTTE, Mont. – Four Saints scored in double figures to lead No. 21 Carroll to a 62-60 road win over Montana Tech Saturday evening in a hostile environment.
The Saints trailed by 11 points with just 1:52 remaining in the first half but an 18-7 run spanning over six minutes of the game to tie the game at 39 with 15:34 remaining in the game.
"A Really gutsy effort by our team," Head coach
Rachelle Sayers said. "I challenged them at halftime to play harder, be more aggressive and they responded with a great effort in the second half."
Tech battle back and the teams traded leads for much of the rest of the game. Carroll took a 61-60 lead with 2:26 left on a shot by
Cassidy Hashley before both defenses tightened the defensive end. Neither team allowed a field goal for the remainder of the game.
With four seconds left in the game, Tech's Mandy Machinal missed a jumper and
Bailey Snelling grabbed a long rebound. She was immediately fouled and went to the line with short time and a one-point lead.
Snelling hit her first shot but her second went off the side of the rim. Hashley tied the ball up but Tech's Kayla Dewit eventually came down with the ball. Hashley's effort took valuable time off the clock and the Orediggers were unable to get a shot off at the buzzer.
"Our leadership in
Bailey Snelling,
Katie Estey,
Kalee Junkermier, really shows in games like this," Sayers said. "Our young posts didn't panic because they see such confidence and poise from our leaders."
Baylee Watson had a team-high 15 points, one short of her career-high set Thursday. Estey had 14 for the Saints, Hashley tallied 13 and Snelling scored 11.
"I thought
Baylee Watson has another great night for us," Sayers said. "She is learning how effective she can be when she is aggressive."
Carroll moves to 13-7 overall and 4-2 in Frontier Conference play. Tech falls to 8-12 overall and 0-5 in Frontier play.
The Saints face Rocky Mountain in Billings next Saturday Jan. 31at 5:30 p.m. to close out the first half of the Frontier Conference slate.
