SIOUX CITY, Iowa - The Carroll College Women's Basketball team saw their season come to an untimely end on Tuesday in Sioux City, falling to Dakota State 82-72 in the round of 16 in the 2023 NAIA Women's Basketball Championship.

The Fighting Saints (27-6, 14-1) ran into what seems to be this season's Cinderella story, Dakota State (28-6, 13-1) in the round of 16 of the NAIA Women's Basketball Championship.

The Trojans got out to a quick start, opening the game on a 5-0 run. Carroll would settle in, and things would begin to flip in the Saints' favor. A Maddie Geritz (Boise, Idaho / R-SR) shot with just under three minutes left in the quarter would give Carroll a seven point advantage, 17-10. Dakota State would narrow the gap slightly, and Carroll would end the opening period with a 19-14 lead.

It was Carroll who got the quick start in the second frame. A 6-0 Carroll run extended the Saints lead to 13 points. Dakota State would find their rhythm towards the later stages of the quarter. The Trojans ended the half on an 11-2 run, burying three consecutive three-pointers to tie the game at 33 apiece heading into the halftime break.

Again, Carroll got the start to a quarter they were looking for. Jamie Pickens (Helena, Mont. / SR) and Kyndall Keller (Havre, Mont. / JR) gave Carroll six quick points out of the break. The Saints, however, could not find a way to fully pull away. The Trojans managed to keep within striking distance, eventually taking the lead with just under two minutes. Geritz knocked down a shot at the end of the quarter to even things up at 49-49 heading into the final quarter.

Near the midway point of the fourth, back-to-back three point plays for the Trojans would spell trouble for the Saints. Even though Carroll managed to tie the game back up several possessions later, a series of turnovers would put them in a hole that they would be unable to dig out of. 

With time running out, Carroll was forced to foul. Dakota State went 22-22 from the stripe in the second half, and kept the Saints at bay. The Carroll comeback effort would run out of time, and the Trojans would run away the 82-72 win.

Maddie Geritz played an outstanding game. The redshirt-senior finished with a game-high 24 points, and eight rebounds. Jamie Pickens finished with one final double-double on the 2022-23 season, a 17 point, 16 rebound performance.

The Trojans were led by a 20 point, 12 rebound performance from Savannah Walsdorf.

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