HELENA, Mont. – The Carroll College women's basketball team hosts a pair of non-conference games against NCAA DIII teams with the University of Pacific coming to town Monday before a special 12 p.m. field trip game Wednesday against Willamette University.

The Saints look to rebound after dropping a last-second loss to Montana Western on Dec. 7. The Saints are 7-3 on the year. Cassidy Hashley leads the Saints with 14.6 points and 10.9 rebounds per game. Bailey Pasta is second on the team with 11.6 points per game.

The nearly two-week break gave the Saints a chance to recover after a brutal non-conference stretch and a chance to take care of academics.

"We had a tremendous week of practice, I am really encouraged by the improvements we have made since our last game," head coach Rachelle Sayers said.  "Though we are still disappointed in the loss to Western, we are definitely ready to get back on the floor and get it off our minds. Being done with finals and having a chance to spend quality time practicing versus game prepping has really helped us improve. I am excited to see how we come out tomorrow." 

The two opponents present a tough challenge for the Saints Pacific is 3-5 on the season and dropped back-to-back games against Frontier Conference opponents, falling to the University of Great Falls 68-52 Friday before losing to MSU-Northern 72-40 Saturday.

Sarah Curl leads Pacific with 17.9 points and 6.8 rebounds per game, no other player averages double figures. Despite dropping their last two games, the Boxers own wins over NAIA teams Warner Pacific and Corban.

"Pacific is a very good NCAA Div III team. We will have our hands full with Sarah Curl and Karli McHone," Sayers said. "They are well coached and run a lot of things. They will really challenge us defensively to stay active and alert because we cannot predict what they might run. Defensively, they will mix things up a lot too, so we can't allow them to stall us offensively, we need to stay aggressive."

The saints and Boxers play at 7 p.m., before their matchup, Willamette will face MSU-Northern in a neutral site game at the PE Center.  

Wednesday, the Saints play the 7-1 Bearcats in a different environment. Carroll will welcome close to 2,000 students from eight different elementary and middle schools to watch the game. Outside of the basketball, there will be special guests, games, contests and giveaways for the kids.

"I told the players, with the exception of a conference championship game or a national tourney game, this will be one of the most fun and memorable games they have ever played in," Sayers said. "We are excited to welcome eight different local elementary and middle schools to have an opportunity to come to Carroll College and see a basketball game.  This will be our inaugural field trip game and not only will we have nearly 2,000 students in attendance, Governor Steve Bullock and First Lady Lisa will be on hand to address the students at half time."

There will also be a lunch special available to fans in attendance, that includes a hotdog, ships and drink for $5.

The game will be exciting. Willamette is a strong defensive team that is holding opponents to 56.1 points per game. Kylie Towry leads the Bearcats with 15.4 points per game.

"It is going to be electric at the PE Center on Wednesday afternoon and we will need the energy from the kids because Willamette is another very good Div III team," Sayers said. "They are 7-1 on the season and are coached by one of my long-time coaching friends and former Big Sky assistant coach, Peg Swadener. They will be very well prepared and they shoot the ball as well as any team we have faced this year. We won't have a lot of turnaround time from Monday night to Wednesday at noon, so our players will have to be extremely focused and ready to go."

The Carroll games will be broadcast on 94.9 FM ESPN Radio live on ESPNMontana.com. Live video will be available on the Carroll Athletics Youtube channel and stats will be available on Dakstats.