BOX SCORE

BILLINGS, Mont. – Vanguard University rode a big fourth quarter surge to top Carroll College 63-55 in the round of 16 at the NAIA National Championship at the Rimrock Auto Arena at Metrapark in Billings.

The game began in a back and forth battle, but Vanguard led 17-14 after one quarter.

The second quarter would be all Carroll. The Saints outscored the Lions 22-10 in the second frame, but Vanguard hit a deep three at the buzzer to cut the lead to 35-27 at the break.

The Lions opened the second half with a 17-5 run, but the Saints closed the quarter with a 6-0 run to take a 47-44 lead to start the fourth quarter. Hannah Dean got into foul trouble in the second half, and with her on the bench, Vanguard went off early in the fourth and held on for the 63-55 win.

The Saints were 14-46 (30.4 percent) from the field. Bailey Pasta, playing on a torn ACL, scored a game-high 14 points. Jaidyn Lyman also had 14 points.

"We were hitting shots. We shot the ball well," said Saints coach Rachelle Sayers. "And in the second half, we got in foul trouble … again. Hannah is a big part of what we do offensively and defensively. That changes everything we do."
Sayers believes they got good shots but couldn't get anything to fall.

"I thought we had enough good looks," Sayers said. "Their size was hard for us to handle. And we got tentative on offense because we were struggling on defense.

"Give them credit. They hung in there in the first half when they were struggling. At times, we had four freshmen on the floor and had to scrap the game plan. They made adjustments and we couldn't."

 The loss is the last game for the Carroll seniors, Pasta, Michaela Dowdy, and Sara Chalich.

The group gave the Saints the first conference title in over a decade. The Saints return three starters next season and most of its depth.