HELENA, Mont. -- The No. 7-ranked Carroll College Saints used a stellar defensive effort to overcome a difficult shooting afternoon and defeated Corban 57-48 on Sunday in the PE Center.
The Saints (2-1) showed some signs of fatigue after a tough matchup on Friday night against No. 14-ranked The Master's. Carroll shot only 32 percent from the field and 12 percent from the three-point line.
"It's been a grind," Saints coach
Rachelle Sayers said. "I'm excited for them to have a couple days off and get their legs back and get caught up on school."
The Saints received a team-high 20 points from
Hannah Dean, who shot 7-of-15 from the field and went 6-for-6 from the free throw line. Dean also racked up five steals.
Perhaps most importantly, Dean drew the defensive responsibility of slowing Corban's top scorer Jordan Woodvine. The Boise State-transfer scored 25 points, but went 9-for-22.
"I thought she did a really good job in the first half," Sayers said. "The matchups were tough when we went small. We typically would have started Hannah on her to begin with. But we only had one true post in a lot of the times. It was hard to have her on the perimeter and then have two guards guard their post. Hannah was able to lock her down."
Carroll led 25-24 at halftime, and then grabbed a 41-35 lead after three.
Through tough defense, great bench play and a strong offensive rebounding effort in the fourth quarter, the Saints preserved their lead.
"I thought our bench really saved us," Sayers said.
The Saints' bench accounted for 27 of their 57 points, led by senior
Mikaela Olson who scored 10 points.
Sayers was encouraged by her team getting a result while struggling from the field on offense.
"I thought they were the right shots," Sayers said. "They just weren't going. When you shoot it like that it and win, it says a lot about your defense. The fact we were able to turn them over only helps us.
The Saints forced 21 turnovers of the Warriors, and only turned the ball over 10 times themselves.
Carroll takes on No. 8 Westmont in the PE Center on Nov. 19 at 7 p.m.
NOTES: Saints redshirt sophomore Dani Wagner had a game-high 10 rebounds… Saints all-time leading scorer Bill Pilgeram coached Corban in his return to the PE Center… The Saints held Junior Saints Day at the conclusion of the game.
