HELENA, Mont. -- The No. 17 Carroll College Fighting Saints withstood a charge from the No. 24-ranked Rocky Mountain College Battlin' Bears to earn a 71-68 overtime win on Tuesday evening in the PE Center.

"I thought in the first half we started out a little shaky," Saints coach Rachelle Sayers said. "We closed the half really well. I thought Rocky came out really strong in the second half. We kept building a little cushion and then we could not put them away. In the end, we had to fight to get to overtime."

The Saints (17-8, 9-4 Frontier Conference) led by seven with four minutes left, but a cold spell allowed the Battlin' Bears to crawl back into it. Rocky made a 12-5 run in the final few minutes, even taking a lead for a brief moment before a Christine Denny free throw tied it at 57. 

Markaela Francis, who led all scorers with 33 points and added 13 rebounds, split free throws on two separate trips to the foul line to give RMC (16-8, 7-6) a lead with 20 seconds left. 

Kamden Hilborn was undeterred. Hilborn drove the lane and laid it a difficult shot to tie the game at 59 with 10 seconds left. 

The Saints forced Rocky into to a deep, tough three that misfired to force OT. 

Carroll stormed out of the gates in the extra period, going on 9-2 run to build a multiple-possession lead. After that, the Saints hung on as the Battlin' Bears cut it down to three, but couldn't find a quality shot to tie it as Kloie Thatcher's deep three fell harmlessly out of bounds. 

"Our kids feel pretty confident at the end of games and in close games," Sayers said.  

The Saints received 15 points from Christine Denny, Kamden Hilborn and Dani Wagner, while Sienna Swannack also cracked double figures with 10. 

The win is the Saints' third consecutive victory and gives the Saints a 2-1 edge in the regular-season series. 

The Saints found success at the foul line, hitting 22-of-27 free throws. 

Up next, Carroll hits the road on Saturday to face No. 22 Montana Western. The Saints and Bulldogs are both vying for the spot in the Frontier Conference and are tied 1-1 in their season series.