HELENA, Mont. -- After a rocky first quarter, the No. 7 Carroll College Saints showed their resolve and scored 71 points over the next three quarters to take down No. 18 Providence 74-69 on Thursday night in the PE Center.

It was both team's first Frontier Conference game. 

"I was really proud of the kids," Saints coach Rachelle Sayers said. "I thought their discipline to get the ball to Hannah, to execute things and to play good tempo was unbelievable."

Senior forward Hannah Dean powered the Saints (5-2, 1-0 Frontier) on both sides of the floor. Dean scored a career-high 27 points and added 11 rebounds, five assists, three steals and a block. Perhaps most importantly, Dean held Providence's nighty double-double player, Parker Esary, to a season low six points on 3-for-12 shooting. She entered the game averaging 18 points and 10 rebounds. 

"They just really locked in," Sayers said. "We turned them over. I can't say enough about Hannah Dean. The glaring statistic was Parker Esary going 3-of-12. Hannah was unbelievable guarding her. I cannot say enough about what she did." 

Three other Saints  joined Dean in double figures, led by Christine Denny and Jaidyn Lyman, who both scored 15 points. Denny and Lyman nearly had perfect nights, shooting 5-for-6 and 6-for-7 respectively. 

While the Saints struggled early on, once the Saints found their rhythm in the second quarter, they outscored Providence (8-1, 0-1) in each of final three periods. 

Emilee Maldonado shouldered the scoring load for Providence, scoring a team-high 24 points while playing a full 40 minutes. Reed Hazard and Molly Schmitz each had 10 as the next leading scorers. 

"This is a team that's 8-0 and has played quality opponents and scores a ton of points and we were able to hold them under 70," Sayers said. 

The Saints shot 50 percent from the field, 46 percent from the three-point line and 78 percent from the foul line. 

Carroll hosts Northern on Saturday. The Skylights fell 65-52 to Rocky Mountain College on Thursday.