HELENA, Mont. - The No. 6-ranked Carroll Women's Basketball team saw a last second bucket from No. 4 Indiana Wesleyan spoil their home opener at the Carroll College PE Center on Friday night in Helena, falling 62-20.

The No. 6 Fighting Saints (0-1) dug their way out of an early hole, gave themselves a chance to send the game to extra time, but came up just two points shy of toppling the No. 4 Wildcats (1-0), falling 62-60 in an instant classic.

Eager to get on the court compete for the first time in 2023-24, and looking to avenge a forgettable performance against Indiana Wesleyan from a year ago, the Saints had some early struggles.

A trapping press, excitement, and nerves saw several early turnovers and shaky shots from the Saints to start the game. The wildcats raced out to a seven point advantage before Willa Albrecht (Billings, Mont. / JR) finally scored both her first points as a Saint, and Carroll's first points of the season. The Wildcats rode a 50 percent shooting quarter, with heavy backcourt pressure to an 18-8 lead after one.

With one quarter behind them, Carroll settled into their game in the second frame. Seven different Saints would score in the second quarter, led by four points off the bench from Ava Oakland (Boise, Idaho / SO), and Carroll would narrow the Wildcats lead to just two points with 1:48 remaining in the first half. Indiana Wesleyan would respond with four points and stifling defense to carry a 30-24 lead into the break.

The Wildcat lead would get as large as eight points in the third, but the Saints would come marching back. A pair of Maddie Geritz (Boise, Idaho / GR) free throws with just over a minute remaining in the third would even the game at 42-42. A Jade Nutley three-pointer would give IWU the lead heading into the final quarter at 45-42.

Geritz scored four points to start the final frame, and gave Carroll their first lead of the contest, 46-45, with nine minutes remaining in the game. An Albrecht three would extend that lead, and momentum seemed to be heavily in the Saints' favor.

The teams would battle back and forth throughout the final quarter, and Carroll would hold a four-point lead with just 46 seconds remaining. Four-straight Wildcat free throws would even the game at 60, and a series of Carroll turnovers in the final minute provided IWU with the ball and the clock on their side. 

With just nine seconds remaining in the game, Maddie Lawrence would put Indiana Wesleyan back on top, 62-60.

Carroll would have one final opportunity, but a last-second Geritz attempt in traffic would come up short and the Wildcats would escape with the two point win.

Turnovers and missed opportunities were the story of the game for the Saints. Carroll heavily out-rebounded the Wildcats (CC 37 reb, IWU 15 reb), but 22 turnovers from the Saints allowed the Wildcats to remain in the game.

Jamie Pickens (Helena, Mont. / GR), quietly had yet another terrific performance. The preseason Frontier Player of the Year posted a 10-point, 12-rebound double-double before fouling out in the late stages. 

Maddie Gertiz led all players, finishing with a career-high 18 points and five rebounds.

Ava Oakland had an outstanding performance off the bench, finishing with a career-best 11 points alongside five rebounds of her own.

Montana transfer, Willa Albrecht, also posted 11 points in her Saints debut.

Jade Nutley led the Wildcats, finishing with 12 points, while Jordan Reed and Maddie Lawrence posted 11 and 10, respectively, to round out the IWU double-digit scorers.

While the loss was certainly not the desired outcome, the Carroll coaching staff was happy with the team's resiliency, and feel that they have identified several things that need to be addressed as the Saints progress through one of the nation's toughest non-conference schedules.

Up next, Carroll will head to Spokane, Wash. for a Monday matinee with NCAA Division III opponent Whitworth.

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