HELENA, Mont. - The No. 9 Carroll Women's Basketball team cruised to a 74-35 win over NCAA Division III opponent Willamette on Monday, winning 74-35 at a jam packed PE Center in Helena.

Carroll (4-3) fed off a youthful energy this morning in Helena. No, not their underclassmen, but rather 2500-plus Helena-area elementary and middle school students provided quite the spark for the Saints on Monday. This morning's game was Carroll's Champions of Character field trip game, and there was not a seat to be found in a raucous Carroll College PE Center.

The Saints raced out of the gate, exploding on a 16-0 run to open the game. Carroll would shoot nearly 50 percent from the field (47.1), but a late Bearcats push would narrow the Saints lead to 21-8 after one quarter.

From there, the rest of the game would be all Carroll. The Saints scored another 19 points in the second quarter, and again held Willamette to just eight points, taking a 40-16 lead into halftime.

The third quarter would be nearly identical to the first two, with Carroll outscoring Willamette 20-8.

A special moment and milestone came in the fourth quarter, when Sienna Swannack (Nine Mile Falls, Wash. / GR) buried a three pointer, her 14th points of the game, and 1,000th career point as a Saint.Head Coach Rachelle Sayers quickly called a timeout, and Swannack was recognized and showered with cheers from the exuberant crowd.

Carroll would finish the fourth quarter on top, adding another 14 points to bring the final score to 74-35.

"It was an amazing atmosphere for our players and these students." Said Sayers. "Being able to provide this experience for these kids is super cool. I'm really thankful for all those that stepped up to make this event happen. You couldn't have written this up any better. A big win, a sell out crowd, and Sienna getting her 1,000th point? It was a great day!"

Nearly all of Carroll's bench saw the court, and scoring came from everywhere. Jamie Pickens (Helena, Mont. / SR) led all scorers with 18 points, alongside four rebounds.

Swannack, the newest member of the 1,000-point club, and Kyndall Keller (Havre, Mont. / JR) each finished with 14 points.

The Bearcats were led by Kaitlyn Imai, who finished with 11 points.

The Saints will now hit the road, as they head to Provo, Utah for their second exhibition game of the year, playing NCAA Division I opponent, BYU, at 2:00 p.m. on Wednesday.

Visit www.carrollathletics.com for a preview of that game, and to stay up to date with everything going on in Carroll Athletics.