HAVRE, Mont. – Hannah Dean and Michaela Dowdy scored 17 points each and combined for 19 rebound to lead No. 11 Carroll to a 47-40 win over MSU-Northern and moving the Saints to within one win of at least a share of a Frontier Conference title.
 
The game was a defensive slobber knocker. Both teams played stellar defense Carroll was just 15-46 (39.1 percent) from the field while MSU-Northern was 15-50 (37.5 percent).
 
The Saints led 8-6 after the first quarter before Northern took a 14-10 lead with 4:31 to play in the first half. Carroll responded with a 9-1 run to close the half to take a 19-15 lead into the break.
 
The Saints built the lead to 32-20 in the third quarter, before Northern's Peyton Filius hit a shot at the buzzer to cut the deficit to 32-22. The two teams traded buckets in the fourth quarter before Northern cut the lead to 43-37 with 30 seconds left, but the Saints went 4-6 from the line in the final seconds, and the Saints closed out the seven-point win.
 
"It wasn't easy, but we didn't expect it to be," head coach Rachelle Sayers said. "Northern is very well coached, they play with a lot of pride, and they have a great tradition of success. It was a very physical game, but very proud of the kids for gutting it out. I thought Dowdy got us going and then Hannah took over. They were monsters on the glass as well."
 
The Saints outscored Northern 26-18 in the paint and 12-7 off of turnovers.
 
Tiara Gilham scored 11 points and grabbed 11 rebounds to lead the Skylights. She was the only MSUN player in double figures.
 
The win, combined with Providence beating Rocky Mountain, gives Carroll a two-game lead in the Frontier Conference standings with just three games to play.
 
Carroll has a chance to lock up at least a share of title Saturday when they face Providence in Great Falls at 5:30 p.m. The game will be broadcast on 94.9 FM ESPN Montana Radio and ESPNMONTANA.com. The game will be live streamed on the Providence Youtube channel. Live stats will be available on Dakstats.