HELENA, Mont. – The Carroll College women's basketball team hosts Montana-Western and No. 4 Westminster this week to start the second half of the Frontier Conference season.

The Saints (14-6, 5-2 FC) defeated the Bulldogs 64-59 and Westminster 55-50 in the first matchups this season.
Montana-Western (9-14, 1-6 FC) is 2-11 in its last 13 games. The Bulldogs defeated Montana Tech 76-71 Saturday, snapping a seven-game skid.

Head Coach Rachelle Sayers knows that, despite their record, the Bulldogs present a unique challenge.

"Western is always a fierce opponent," Sayers said. "Every time we play them it has come down to the wire. They play very hard and have a lot of local players on their roster so they will have a good following in Helena."

Three Bulldog players are Helena natives led by Kaci Matthies, UMW's fourth-leading scorer and second-leading rebounder.

Sierra Higheagle is the only Montana-Western player that averages double-figures with 10.87 points per game.
Westminster (16-2, 6-1 FC) is on a different trajectory than Montana-Western. The Griffins haven't lost a game since falling to the Saints and defeated No. 21 Lewis-Clark 89-40 on Saturday in Salt Lake City.

The Saints have their work cut out for them Saturday. Three Griffins average double-figures, Tia Pappas leads the way with 14.17 points per game.

The Griffins are no doubt looking forward to the opportunity to avenge their lone Frontier loss but the Saints have their eyes set on Thursday night and the Bulldogs.

"We have another big game against No. 4 Westminster on Saturday, but we aren't even talking about them right now," Sayers said. "The only thing on our minds is Western and that's what we have to focus on. We will start focusing on Westminster and 7:30 p.m. Thursday night."

The Saints and Bulldogs tip off at 5:30 p.m. Thursday at the PE Center. Carroll and Westminster play Saturday at 5:30 p.m.