Women's Basketball | 11/04/22 | 2:48 PM

HELENA, Mont. - The No. 4 Carroll College Women's Basketball team is set for a premier NAIA matchup as they host defending NAIA Champion and current No. 1 Thomas More at the Carroll College PE Center in Helena at 7 p.m.

It simply does not get much bigger than tonight's game at the PE Center. Rarely do two top-five ranked teams meet this early in the season, and perhaps even more rare is the game being played with one team hosting, not an early-season tournament on a neutral floor.

Carroll (1-1) enters the night with a chip on their shoulder, and after dropping their season-opener, will look to prove their Preseason No. 4 ranking against the top team in the nation.

No. 1 Thomas More (1-0) comes into tonight's game with a thrilling 58-55 win over No. 11 Indiana Wesleyan to open their year. Emily Simon hit a deep three pointer to give Thomas More the lead with just seconds left in the game.

Tonight's game is the second leg of a home-and-home between the two schools. Carroll traveled to Kentucky last November, playing the then-ranked No. 4 Saints of Thomas More to an overtime battle. After a late fourth quarter push by Carroll sent the game into overtime, Thomas More snuck past the Fighting Saints 74-73 for the win. Carroll will look to get their revenge tonight and hand Thomas More their first loss of the season.

Tonight's game is the first time in program history that the No. 1 team in the NAIA Poll will be visiting the Carroll College PE Center.

The Fighting Saints will look for big performances from Frontier Conference Player of the Week Jamie Pickens (Helena, Mont. / SR) and transfer guard Kyndall Keller (Havre, Mont. / JR) who each scored 17 points in Carroll's 61-57 win over NCAA Division II MSU Billings on Tuesday.

Tonight's game will be streamed live on the Fighting Saints Network, presented by Point S Tire & Auto, and live stats for the game can be found HERE. Tickets for tonight's game can be purchased online HERE, and will also be available at the door.

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