BILLINGS, Mont. – Carroll College earned its fair share of opportunities, even holding a six-point lead with five minutes remaining, but the No. 3-seed Oklahoma City Stars stormed back to end the Fighting Saints' season in the Second Round of the NAIA National Tournament. 

Carroll fell 60-59. 

"First of all, this team never quit," Saints coach Rachelle Sayers told Sports 94.9. "They haven't' quit all year. They continue to fight and they continue to battle."

Carroll grabbed a two-possession lead when Brittney Johnson dropped a three-pointer in the bucket off an assist from Dani Wagner, to push the Saints lead to 53-47, but the Stars answered back with two straight scores. 

The sides swapped scores until Mallory Lockhart hit a three to knot the game at 56. 

Dean missed a shot and then OKC worked the ball through Carroll's zone to find a layup and the lead with 21 seconds remaining. 

The Saints turned the ball on their next possession, effectively sealing their comeback hopes.

"We had some critical turnovers down the stretch and missed some free throws," Sayers said. "Their size wore us down a little bit." 

The Saints' senior starters were fearless in the biggest game of the season. Hannah Dean and Johnson both finished with 15 points and helped the Saints battle throughout. 

"You see our two seniors with 15 points and leaving everything they had on the floor," Sayers said. "The biggest message was when it's all said and done was to those two and what they've meant to
this program, their leadership and work ethic and mentorship."

The Saints started erratically as foul trouble threw the Saints in the funk.

"Those early fouls changed everything," Saints coach Rachelle Sayers said. 

In the second quarter, the Saints found their rhythm. Carroll's defense, despite mounting fouls, didn't back off and forced the Stars into turnovers. After trailing by as many as nine in the first half, the Saints trimmed the deficit to three by halftime, attacking OKC's 2-3 zone with a dedicated aggression. 

Carroll's three-ball carried it in the third quarter, as the Saints knocked down four triples. OKC packed in its 2-3 zone and the Saints probed in and out of the zone and found open looks from the perimeter. 

The Saints relied on their perimeter and high-post game to do the brunt of their scoring against a tall OCU team. The Stars started a 6-5 forward and pulled a 6-2 All-American off the bench.

The Saints only managed eight points in the paint on Friday, while the Stars scored 30. 

The Saints' season ends at 26-8, the most wins for a Saints team since 2008 and the most wins a Sayers-led team has ever compiled.