MISSOULA, Mont. – The University of Montana women's basketball team built a 19-9 lead in the first quarter and survived the remaining three to earn a 55-48 win over Carroll College in an exhibition game Monday evening at Dahlberg Arena in Missoula.
 
The Lady Griz tallied seven second-chance points in the first quarter and held the Saints scoreless for long stretches in the frame to build the 19-9 lead with 1:07 to play. Neither team would score for the remainder of the first, but the two teams would go shot for shot the rest of the way.
 
In the second, Carroll cut the lead to 25-17 with six-straight points from Oona Harrington, including a three-pointer and basket and foul. The Griz then battled back to take a 30-17 lead, the largest of the game with 4:44 left before the half. Carroll cut the lead to eight, but Madi Schoenig hit a pair of free throws in the final seconds to extend the lead to 35-25 at the break.
 
In the third quarter, Carroll opened with tough defensive play, turning over the Lady Griz four times in the first 2:30 to spur an 8-0 run to start the half and cut the lead to 35-33. Helena native McKenzie Johnston stemmed the tide with a jumper to extend the lead back to four, and that is as close as the Saints would come.
 
Carroll closed the quarter with a jumper from Taylor Salonen, but Montana held on to a 45-39 advantage.
 
In the fourth, Mikaela Olson buried a three to start the quarter to cut it to 45-42, but back-to-back buckets form the Griz extended the lead back to 50-42.  The opponents traded baskets for the final five minutes, closing with a jumper in the paint from Hannah Dean with 16 seconds to play to set the final at 55-48.
 
Nine Saints scored in the game, led by Harrington and Salonen with nine points each. Hannah Dean had a productive day across the board with eight points, a game-high seven rebounds, two assists, four blocks and four steals with just one foul and no turnovers.
 
The Saints struggled from the field against the defensively minded Griz. Carroll was 18-51 (35.3 percent) from the field and 7-28 (25 percent) from the three-point line. Montana was 21-52 (40.4 percent) from the field and 8-20 (40 percent) from the three-point line.
 
The Lady Griz outrebounded the Saints 39-28, leading to a 14-9 advantage in second-chance points and a 24-16 advantage in points in the paint.
 
Despite the loss, head coach Rachelle Sayers came away from the game with a lot of positives for her team going forward.
 
"Our kids played with a tremendous energy tonight," she said. "Except about the first four minutes of the first quarter, we competed right with them. We were down 19-9 in the first quarter, tie them the second quarter, and outscore them in the second half. If we had had a little bit better start, we would have had a chance to close the gap."
 
The game is the first of three NCAA DI exhibition games for the Saints. The team has goals in the three games, and Sayers said the team hit the marks in its first outing.
 
"I am proud of our effort, I thought everyone played well, I thought everyone played hard and those are our goals for these exhibition games," she said. "Bring the energy and effort every single time, don't get outworked and communicate and I thought the most part we did that."
 
Salonen scored six of her nine points in a three-minute window in the third quarter which caused Montana to call a timeout to account for the forward from Kalispell.
 
"She can do that, and that is one thing we are trying to get out of her is to attack," Sayers said of Salonen. "She is very athletic; she has a great three-point shot. Sometimes she settles into the offense, we need her to be the offense, and I think tonight she did."
 
Dean's all-around performance was important for the Saints to keep the game close. She had more blocks than the entire Montana team and all of Carroll's steals for the game.
 
"She made some huge key blocks. She saved us a couple of times," Sayers said. "Those are momentum plays, you could see how fired up our bench got, and our fans got when that happened. We know what Hannah can do. It is going to be a tougher role for Hannah without Cassi (Hashley) on the court, and she is stepping into the role with confidence."
 
The Saints play the University of Utah on Nov. 2 in Salt Lake City in the second of three exhibitions. Carroll opens the season with a road game at College of Idaho on Nov. 4, before playing their final exhibition against Boise State on Nov. 5.