Women's Basketball | 11/24/23 | 11:26 AM

HELENA, Mont. - The Carroll Women's Basketball team will host a weekend event featuring four of the top teams in the NAIA at the Carroll College PE Center, with two games scheduled for both Friday and Saturday in Helena.

The No. 5-ranked Fighting Saints (4-2) will host a pair of Cascade Collegiate Conference teams, No. 10 Lewis-Clark State (3-0), and (RV) Southern Oregon (2-0) on Friday and Saturday, with Frontier foe No. 18 Providence (7-0) playing the opposite team each night.

Friday night's slate will see the Argos take on the Raiders at 5 p.m., with the Saints hosting the Warriors immediately following at 7 p.m.

On Saturday, Providence will play LC State at 2 p.m., and Carroll will close the event with a 4 p.m. matchup with Southern Oregon.

Rarely will you see a non-conference event with four teams as highly-ranked as this weekend's grouping. All four teams have played in the NAIA National Tournament in recent years, and are sure to make a strong push at their respective conference titles.

Head Coach Rachelle Sayers has made it clear to her team that they will always play a very competitive non-conference schedule, and this weekend is just another in a long line of stiff early-season competitors.

The Saints are no strangers to either of the two teams they will see this weekend, both coming off of strong years in the CCC. In 2022-23, both LC State and Southern Oregon managed to beat a Carroll team that advanced to the NAIA Round of 16, with both Carroll losses coming on the road. This season will be different, as the teams now return the trip and have to prove they can win in front of what is sure to be a lively CC PE Center.

Jamie Pickens (Helena, Mont. / GR) is off to a great start in her final year wearing the Purple and Gold. The standout forward is averaging a double-double (17.5 points, 10 rebounds) through six games in 2023.

All four of the weekend contests will be streamed live, free of charge, on the Fighting Saints Network - presented by Point S Tire & Auto Service.

Visit the event page HERE, for rosters, schedule, and more for each of the four schools, as well as a link to the live stats for all four games, and ticket information.

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