Women's Basketball | 03/14/23 | 8:47 AM

SIOUX CITY, Iowa – The No. 2-seed Carroll College Women's Basketball team is primed and ready for a round of 16 tilt with No. 6-seeded Dakota State in the 2023 NAIA Women's Basketball Championship this afternoon at 2:00 p.m. MDT.
 
The Fighting Saints (27-5, 14-1), nearly a week removed from one of the most memorable comeback wins in Carroll history, will square off with Dakota State (27-6, 13-1) this afternoon at the Tyson Events Center in Sioux City, Iowa to begin final site play.
 
For the second consecutive year, the Saints find themselves in a mid-day round of 16 matchup in the NAIA Women's Basketball Championship. Last season, as a three-seed Carroll came up just short, falling 67-71 to Morningside (Iowa). This year's team, filled with returners and a two-seed designation, will look to break through into the round of eight.
 
The 2022-23 Saints senior class, a group who have rewritten nearly every major statistical category in the Carroll annals, have the opportunity to add to their historic careers. A win this afternoon would send the Saints to the round of eight for the first time under Head Coach Rachelle Sayers.
 
The Saints are one of the hottest teams in the nation, entering today's contest on a 15-game win streak dating back to January 7. That matches the second-longest such streak in the NAIA (Indiana Wesleyan), trailing only Central Methodist, who have not yet lost on the year.
 
Carroll will play Dakota State, a North Star Conference opponent that they have not played since 2020. The Trojans are the lowest-remaining seed in the tournament (No. 6), and are coming off of an 86-69 over Eastern Oregon last week in Wichita, Kan.
 
Today's game will be an interesting clash of strengths. Carroll has one of the nation's top defenses, No. 3 in the NAIA in points allowed per game (52.0). The Trojans on the other hand, have a top-10 offense, averaging 79.3 points per game.
 
Saints fans can expect today's game to look fairly similar to the first round pairing with No. 15-seed Rochester (Mich.). Much like the Warriors, Dakota State will look to press the length of the court, and forces turnovers at a very high clip (14.2 steals per game). A highly-potent Trojan offense shoots the eighth most three-pointers per game, with a three-point field goal percentage of 30.1 percent.
 
Carroll should have a small size advantage in the paint. Both Carroll front court starters, Jamie Pickens (Helena, Mont. / SR) and Maddie Geritz (Boise, Idaho / R-SR) are taller than every Trojan player, and the Saints as a whole have been a better rebounding team than the Trojans to this point on the season.
 
Pickens has been dominant as of late. The Frontier Conference Player of the Year has averaged 23.2 points per game over her last six, including a monster 28-point performance last week against Jamestown. On top of that, Pickens is averaging a double-double with 10.3 rebounds per game over her last six as well.
 
Tip-off for today's game is scheduled for 2:00 p.m. MDT.

Today's matchup will be streamed live on the NAIA Network. All users will have to pay to watch each game, or pay for the full championship pass: 

• NAIA Network CLICK HERE
  • NAIA Network Day Pass: $9.95
  • NAIA Network Championship Pass (all games except for championship match): $34.95

Voice of the Saints, Nick Dietzen, will have the call live from court side at the Tyson Events Center on Rewind 94.9 FM or online HERE.
 
Live stats for today's game can be found HERE.

For Saints fans in Helena looking for a place to watch today's game, Lewis & Clark Brewing Co., proud supporter of Carroll Athletics, will host a watch party for the game in their taproom, located at 1535 Dodge Ave, Helena, MT 59601.

Be sure to visit www.carrollathetics.com this evening for a recap of the action, and to stay up to date with everything going on in Carroll Athletics.