NOTES l LIVE STATS l LIVE VIDEO ($) l LIVE AUDIO

INDEPENDENCE, Mo. - The Carroll College women's basketball team takes the court at Silverstein Eye Center Arena in Independence, Missouri, Thursday for their third trip to the NAIA Division I Women's Basketball Championship in four years and eighth overall. 

The Saints finished third in the Frontier Conference regular-season and fell to the University of Great Falls 57-52 in the semifinals of the Frontier Playoffs in their last game. The Saints enter the championship with a six seed in the Duer Bracket and are ranked 21st. Carroll faces tournament regulars Freed-Hardeman (Tenn.). 

The Lady Lions are ranked 10th coming into the tournament with a 26-7 record. FHU played in the Fab Four for three consecutive years and has been in the bracket every season since 1997. 

Freed-Hardeman replaced significant experience in graduated seniors Hayley Newby, the 2015 NAIA Player of the Year, second-leading scorer Grace Alonso de Armino and Paige Melville the Lady Lions third-leading scorer.  Head coach Dale Neal is 599-169 in 21 years at the helm at Freed-Hardeman. 

Carroll owns wins over fellow tournament teams The Master's, Westmont, University of Great Falls, and MSU Northern. 

The game is slated for 7 p.m. MDT live stats and video is available from the NAIA and live audio is available on 94.9 FM ESPN Radio Helena and ESPNMontana.com.