Women's Basketball | 03/08/23 | 1:16 PM

HELENA, Mont. - The No. 2-Seed Carroll College Women's Basketball team escaped an upset bid from Rochester last night, and will square off with No. 7-Seeded Jamestown in the Second Round of the 2023 NAIA Women's Basketball Championship - presented by Ballogy tonight at 7 p.m. in the Carroll College PE Center.

The Fighting Saints (26-5, 14-1) have one opponent standing in between them and a trip to Sioux City, Iowa next week; Jamestown (22-8, 16-6), an at-large bid from the Great Plains Athletic Conference, who snuck past Indiana University - South Bend in a thrilling early game last night in Helena.

Both teams had their hands full in their respective first round games last night. Carroll managed to fight through a high-pressure full court defensive effort from Rochester, winning 75-66 to secure their spot in round No. 2. Jamestown was able to fend off a late-game push from IU-South Bend, 73-68.

Tonight's game will feature two conference Players of the Year in Carroll's Jamie Pickens (Helena, Mont. / SR) and Jamestown's Hannah DeMars. Pickens, the Frontier Conference Player of the Year, led all scorers in Carroll's opening game of the tournament, finishing with 23 points, 11 rebounds, and four assists. DeMars, the GPAC Player of the Year, also led all scorers in her team's first game, also pulling down nine rebounds and five assists. The battle between the two standout forwards will certainly be a storyline to follow in the second round.

Jamestown point guard Kia Tower had a terrific night from the floor in the Jimmies' first round game. The senior scored 19 points and got hot form deep. After entering the game shooting just 29 percent from three point range on the season, Tower went 5-5 from range in the Jimmies win.

Carroll's Maddie Geritz (Boise, Idaho / SR) posted her first career double-double in last night's win for the Saints. Geritz scored 13 points and pulled down 10 rebounds. Kamden Hilborn (Clancy, Mont. / GR) nearly finished with a third double-double for the Saints as well, scoring 11 points while tallying eight assists.

Tonight should prove to be a strength on strength matchup, with each school's starting five sharing similar skill sets. Look for the rebound differential to be one of the key determining factors in who advances to Sioux City for the round of 16 and beyond.

Tickets for tonight's game are available online HERE, or at the door.

Tip-off is slated for 7:05 p.m. and SWX will broadcast the game live throughout Montana. The SWX feed will be streamed live online on the Fighting Saints Network - presented by Point S Tire & Auto Service. Voice of the Saints, Nick Dietzen, and Hall of Famer Gary Turcott will have the call on Rewind 94.9 FM, or online HERE, and live stats will be available HERE.