Men's Basketball | 01/27/24 | 9:59 AM

HELENA, Mont. - Both the Carroll Men's and Women's Basketball teams will look to continue their great starts to league play this afternoon when they host Providence in a Saturday afternoon doubleheader. The Women will tip at 2 p.m., with the Men to follow at 4 p.m. at the Carroll College PE Center.

The two schools come into the game off of different results on both sides of the action in the Thursday games. Carroll picked up a road sweep of the Montana Western teams, while both the Providence Men and Women fell at home to Rocky Mountain College.

On the Women's front, Thursday's loss by the Argos means Carroll enters this afternoon with a two-game lead in the race for the Frontier Conference title. Carroll won the first meeting between the teams at the start of Conference play earlier this month in Great Falls, 63-59, and will hope to further distance themselves from the league's second-place team. 

The Fighting Saints and the Argonauts are the only two Frontier teams appearing within the nation's top-25, as the Carroll Women sit at No. 6 and the Argos at No. 16.

Each team has plenty of firepower, with four of the top seven scorers in the league set to do battle this afternoon. Carroll's frontcourt tandem of Jamie Pickens (Helena, Mont. / GR) and Maddie Geritz (Boise, Idaho / GR) are No. 2 and No. 7, respectively, on the list, averaging 18.2 and 12.4 points per game. Two newcomers for the Argos, Ashlee Maldonado (18.2 ppg) and Keanna Salave'a (13.6 ppg), the league's No. 3 and No. 6 scorers.

The Carroll Men also enter the game tied atop the league standings, and are arguably one of the hottest teams in the nation entering Saturday's showdown.

Andrew Cook (Huntington Beach, Calif. / JR) has been without a question, the best player in the league through the first six games of Frontier play. He has averaged 24.0 points per game over his last five played, with three performances over 25 points scored. The preseason All-Conference selection is leading the league in scoring, averaging 20.3 points per game on the season, and has been just as stout on the defensive end as of late.

In the first meeting between the teams in Great Falls earlier this month, a back-and-forth slugfest resulted in a slim two-point victory for the Saints. Carroll will be looking for the same result, but Head Coach Ryan Lundgren might prefer a little more cushion the second time around.

Providence is as dangerous as any team in the league, as evidenced by their 70-59 win over No. 8 Montana Tech last weekend in Great Falls.

Both games will be aired on SWX stations across Montana, and a simulcast can be watched on the Fighting Saints Network - presented by Point S Tire & Auto Service.

Catch Voice of the Saints, Nick Dietzen, and Carroll Hall of Famer, Gary Turcott, call the action live on Rewind 94.9 FM or online HERE.

Live stats for the Women can be found HERE, and live stats for the Men HERE.

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