DILLON, Mont. – Brittney Johnson scored a career-high 20 points on 6 of 7 from the three-point line and the fifth-ranked Carroll College women's basketball team rolled to a 58-45 road win over Montana Western Thursday evening in Dillon.
 
The Saints jumped out to a 6-0 lead on back-to-back 3-pointers from Katie Estey and Bailey Pasta to start the game. The early buckets would be the difference in the first quarter as the Saints held a 19-13 advantage at the break.
 
Western cut the lead to 19-17 early in the second quarter and kept the score close before the Saints closed on a 7-0 run to take a 35-24 lead into the locker room.
 
Baylee Watson scored nine of her 11 points in the first half to lead the way for Carroll. The Bulldogs changed the game plan at the half, heavily guarding the high post which limited Watson to just two points after the break but opened up the door for Johnson. The freshman guard hit 17 of her 20 points after the break.
 
"We call her Big-Shot Brit. She didn't get that nickname for not hitting big shots," Carroll coach Rachelle Sayers said. "She struggled a little bit lately and I am really proud of her for continuing to work and stay positive. This is a reflection of the hard work she has put in over the last month."
 
The Bulldogs outscored the Saints 10-8 in the third quarter and cut the Carroll lead to 43-37 with 8:51 left in the game but Carroll, behind Johnson's big second half pulled away down the stretch.
 
"I thought Western did a really nice job of trying to take our posts out of it," Sayers said. "But our high-post players did a good job of being patient and hitting the shooters when they were open. Britt had 20 points but a lot of credit for those points goes to the high post players."
 
Carroll was 17 of 47 from the field (36.2 percent) but behind Johnson's outstanding performance was 11 of 23 (47.8 percent) from the three-point line.
 
Carroll held UMW to 17 of 51 (33.3 percent) from the field and a stellar 4 of 17 (23.5 percent) from the three-point line.
 
Carroll outrebounded the Bulldogs 38-32 and no Western player scored in double figures.
 
The Saints played without guard Jordan Johnston but Sayers was happy to see her team step up in her absents.
 
"It was a great team win without a senior captain in Jordan Johnston, hopefully we'll get her back for Saturday," Sayers said. "We had some different matchups and some things that weren't ideal tonight and I am proud of our players battling tonight."
 
The Saints play their first home game since Dec. 9, Saturday when Rocky Mountain comes to the PE Center. The Bears and Saints take the court at 5:30 p.m.