BUTTE, Mont. – No. 10 Carroll College women's basketball held Montana Tech to just six points in the first quarter to build a 16-6 lead and kept the Orediggers at arm's length as they cruised to a 65-49 road win in Butte Thursday.
 
Tech jumped out a 4-3 lead with 7:24 left in the first quarter, but the Saints answered with a basket from Hannah Dean in the ensuing possession to go ahead 5-4, a lead that they would not relinquish.
 
Carroll held the Diggers scoreless for nearly six minutes as they built a 10-4 lead before Tech answered with a bucket. The Saints responded with a 6-0 run to close the quarter.
 
The Saints extended the lead to 22-8 before the two teams traded baskets for the remainder of the half. Carroll led 35-20 at the break.
 
The Diggers went on an 8-2 run to start the second half to cut the lead to 37-28, but the Saints responded and built a 49-33 lead with 20 seconds to play in the third quarter. Tech hit a three-pointer at the buzzer to cut it to 49-36.
 
Carroll extended the lead to 55-38 with 7:58 to play. Montana Tech would cut it to 59-49, but that is as close as they would come. The Saints closed on a 6-0 run to close the 16-point win.

'This was a huge win for us," head coach Rachelle Sayers said. "Tech is coming off two big road wins, they just scored 90 on a very good Providence team, it was just a huge effort. Dowdy and Dean were again huge but I thought our bench: Wagner, Salonen and Lyman were terrific and gave us a huge lift. It's just a tough place to play, I'm just really proud of the girls fight and energy throughout. Going 7-2 with 6 of our first 9 games on the road is huge. We are definitely looking forward to playing at home."
 
The Saints were 23-58 (39.7 percent) from the field on the game and 17-23 (73.9 percent) from the free throw line for the game. Michaela Dowdy continued her strong play, leading all scorers with 16 points, Dean added 14 and Bailey Pasta scored 11.  The Saints had only 12 turnovers and edged the Diggers on the boards for a 39-36 advantage.
 
The defense again set the tone. Carroll held Montana Tech 18-52 (34.6 percent) from the field and 4-15 (26.7 percent) from the three-point line. They held their opponent to 55 total points or under for the 12th time in 20 games this season. Shay Potter was the lone Digger in double figures with 14 points.
 
The Saints move to 15-5 overall and 7-2 in Frontier play, a half-game up on Providence for the Frontier lead, every other team in the conference was idle Thursday.
 
Carroll next hosts four home games, starting with Rocky Mountain Saturday at the PE Center at 5:30 p.m.