BUTTE, Mont. - The No. 11 Carroll College Women's Basketball team picked up a hard fought road win at Montana Tech on Thursday, winning 60-48 in Butte, Mont.

The Fighting Saints (12-4, 3-0) managed to keep their Frontier Conference record clean, and started 2023 on a high note with a 12 point victory at Montana Tech (4-9, 0-3).

Carroll found themselves in unfamiliar territory after one quarter of play. The Saints would score 17 in the opening period, but still found themselves trailing the Orediggers by three. Montana Tech raced out to a 11-2 advantage early in the game, and finished the quarter shooting 75 percent from the field.

Things would tighten up offensively in the second quarter. Carroll would be the only team to score double-digits in the frame, six of which came courtesy of Kyndall Keller (Havre, Mont. / JR) to bring her total to 12 points entering halftime. In a drastic turn of events, the Saints would limit Montana Tech to just eight points on just 9.1 percent shooting from the field in the second quarter. Montana Tech would take a 28-27 lead into the break.

The Saints would start the second half on a 6-0 run to gain the lead, and would not look back. The third quarter was all Carroll, with Keller, Jamie Pickens (Helena, Mont. / SR), and Sienna Swannack (Nine Mile Falls, Wash. / GR) doing the majority of the scoring. The Saints would again hold the Orediggers to under 10 points in the frame, taking a 44-35 lead into the final quarter.

Carroll would hold off a late push from the Orediggers in the fourth, while Pickens and Swannack combined for all 16 of the Saints' fourth quarter points to close the door on any comeback to give Carroll the 60-48 win.

Three Saints finished with double-digit points, led by Swannack (12), Keller (16) and Pickens' game-high 19 points. Both Pickens and Swannack would finish the game with six rebounds, and Swannack added five assists as well.

Motnana Tech's Aubrie Rademacher finished with a near double-double, posting 14 points and nine rebounds in the loss.

Carroll will shift focus towards a road contest in Billings with fellow conference leader, Rocky Mountain College, on Saturday at 2 p.m.

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