BUTTE, Mont. – The sports cliché says that you toss records out in rivalry games. For the last two seasons that rings true when the Carroll College women's basketball team faces Montana Tech. The Saints fell twice at home to the Diggers last year and in the first meeting of the 2015-16 season, the Saints squeaked out a 68-63 win.
 
Thursday, the No. 5 Saints again won a close game against the 5-14 Diggers, 65-59. This time at Kelvin Sampson court in Butte.
 
Carroll jumped out to an early 9-2 run over the first three minutes of the game. The Orediggers cut the lead to 16-12 with 1:45 left in the first quarter before the Saints closed on a 4-0 run to take a 20-12 lead into the second quarter.
 
Tech battled back to take a 32-30 lead with 1:19 left in the first half before the Saints closed on a 7-0 run to take a 37-32 lead into the break. The brief lead would turn out to be the only one for Montana Tech but the Diggers would keep it close.
 
Carroll wouldn't build a lead larger than seven points and the Diggers were able to cut the lead to two with just 14 seconds left in the game. The Saints closed the game with free throws from Cassidy Hashley and Baylee Watson in the final seconds to earn the 65-50 win.
 
"I am really proud of our composure and free throws down the stretch," head coach Rachelle Sayers said. "I thought the defense that Britt (Johnson) and Sara (Chalich) played on Hattie Thatcher in the second half won the game for us. Britt came up with a huge steal to secure the win for us."
 
Katie Estey led the Saints with 19 points, Watson scored 15 and Hashley added 13 points. The Saints were 19 of 61 (31.1 percent) from the field but the free throw line proved to be a game changer where the Saints went 21 of 24 (87.5 percent).
 
"We are still playing without Senior captain Jordan Johnston," Sayers said. "Our young guards are getting a lot of confidence and experience that is really going to benefit us in the end, but we are definitely looking forward to getting her back."
 
In the first meeting, the Saints dominated the boards but this game the two teams tied with 39 rebounds each.
 
Sammy McGree scored 15 points to lead the Diggers followed by Hattie Thatcher with 14.
 
The Saints now set their sights on first-place and 16th-ranked Lewis-Clark who they meet Saturday in Lewiston. Carroll is the only game for the Warriors this weekend so they should be primed for the challenge. The two teams are slated to tipoff at 6:30 p.m. MDT.