WAIKIKI, Hawaii – No. 21 Carroll College women's basketball rode a strong second half to earn a 75-65 win over Menlo College and hand the oaks their first loss to an NAIA team all season. The game was the first game of the Hoop N' Surf Challenge in Waikiki.
 
The Saints jumped to an early lead, but the Oaks battle back and the remainder of the first have was a shot-for-shot battle. Menlo led 16-15 at the first quarter break, but the Saints took a 33-32 lead into the half.
 
Carroll opened the third quarter with a three-point play from Michaela Dowdy and never looked back.
 
The Saints outscored the Oaks 24-18 in the third quarter to take a 57-50 lead into the final frame.
 
Menlo hit a bucket and free throw to cut the lead to 57-53, but the Saints went on a 6-0 run to build a 63-53 advantage with 7:46 left to play.
 
The Oaks again cut the lead to 63-58, but Bailey Pasta answered with a deep three-pointer to put Carroll up 66-58 with 4:52 to play. Christine Denny added another three-pointer to push the lead to 69-60 with 4:11 to play and the Oaks couldn't muster a significant challenge over the final few minutes as the Saints cruised to the 10-point win.
 
Michaela Dowdy had a huge game, going 8-11 from the field for a game-high 19 points, despite only playing 18 total minutes.
 
Dani Wagner was also efficient going 5-7 from the field for 11 points, and Bailey Pasta added 10. Taylor Salonen was big on the glass, grabbing a game-high 14 boards.
 
The Saints were 28-70 (40 percent) from the field, including 6-15 (40 percent) from the three-point line. Carroll struggled from the free throw line in the first half but went 7-8 from the line in the second half to close the game at 13-22 (59.1 percent).
 
The Carroll defense was strong, holding the Oaks to 26-69 (37.7 percent) from the field and just 3-15 (20 percent) from the three-point line. Madison Michelis
 
"Today we earned a big-time win against a very good team," head coach Rachelle Sayers said. "I thought our players dug in and played with a ton of poise. Dowdy was unbelievable. 19 points after sitting almost the entire first half with two fouls is huge. She was automatic today. Taylor Salonen comes in and gets 14 rebounds off the bench, just a huge effort from everyone! I'm proud of their play today. Now we have a quick turnaround to get ready for the No. 1 ranked team in the country for NAIA DII. We will need another huge effort from everyone to leave here 2-0."
 
The Saints play Saint Xavier (Ill.), the No. 1 team in NAIA DII. The Cougars fell to Wayland Baptist 84-77 Tuesday for their first loss of the season.
 
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