GREAT FALLS, Mont. - The No. 5-ranked Carroll Women's Basketball team picked up another ranked win on Saturday, defeating No. 16 Providence in the Frontier Conference opener, 63-59 at the McLaughlin Center.

The Fighting Saints (10-3, 1-0) continued a five-game win streak over the Argonauts (9-5, 0-1) dating back to 2022 in front of large contingency of purple clad fans in Great Falls.

Both teams felt each other out in the opening frame, with Carroll taking a 16-12 advantage into the second quarter with six points each from Kyndall Keller (Havre, Mont. / SR) and Maddie Geritz (Boise, Idaho / GR).

A 40 percent effort from the field in the second quarter would not be enough for the Saints to match the output of an Argo unit that shot a lights-out 57 percent, and Providence would trim the Carroll lead to just two points heading into the break, 33-31.

Keller did the majority of the scoring for the Saints in the first half, while Jamie Pickens (Helena, Mont. / GR) was held mostly in check through the first two periods. Pickens had six points at the break, four of which came from the charity stripe.

Out of the halftime break, Pickens would start to take over the game for Carroll. She scored eight points in the third quarter, which nearly kept pace with the nine points scored by Providence's Ashlee Maldonado, who engineered a late Argo run and give her team a 47-45 lead heading into the final quarter.

Keller would again do the heavy lifting for the Saints in the fourth quarter, her seven points, alongside five each from Pickens and Geritz, would help lift the Saints to a big time top-25 road win to begin their conference slate.

Keller tied Providence's Ashlee Maldonado with a game-high 20 points, adding three rebounds, one block and a steal as well.

After being held in check in the first half, Jamie Pickens ho-hummed her way to an impressive 19 point, 15 rebound double-double.

The Saints will return to Helena and begin preparation for a pair of home games this week, with Montana Western coming to town on Thursday, and Montana Tech making the trip to the PE Center on Saturday.

Visit www.carrollathletics.com for a preview of those games, and to stay up to date with everything going on in Carroll Athletics.