HELENA, Mont. - The No. 8-ranked Carroll Women's Basketball team dropped their season-opener on Thursday, falling 59-69 to (RV) Arizona Christian at the PE Center.

The Fighting Saints (0-1) saw a great first half performance slip away with an ice-cold second half to fall to the Firestorm (1-0).

Opening game nerves were on full display for both teams in the early stages of the first quarter, with each team struggling to knock down shots. After a slow start, Addi Ekstrom (Bozeman, Mont. / SR) caught fire in the later stages of the opening frame to help break the game open for the Saints.

Ekstrom went 4-6 from three-point range in the first, lifting Carroll to a 19-6 lead after one.

In the second quarter, Ekstrom was joined by Preseason All-Conference selections Kyndall Keller (Havre, Mont. / R-SR) and Willa Albrecht (Billings, Mont. / R-JR) from deep, as the trio knocked down another four three's to help extend the Carroll lead to 37-22 at the break.

The Firestorm couldn't get anything going in the first half, going just 6-25 from the field thanks in large part to some excellent defense by the Saints.

Things flipped quickly in the third quarter, however.

Arizona Christian took advantage of a poor-shooting frame from the Saints, knocking down several transition shots after Carroll misses. The Firestorm shot 53 percent from the floor in the third, chipping away at the Carroll advantage as the Saints went ice-cold to send the game to the fourth at 47-43.

The fourth quarter played out nearly identical to the third, with both teams matching their shot percentages. Unfortunately for the Saints, they were on the bottom-end of the shot chart.

ACU went 4-6 from three point range in the final quater to fully erase the one-time 18-point lead by the Saints, coming from behind for a 69-59 win.

Ekstrom led all players, finishing with 23 points, three rebounds, one assist and a block on the evening.

WIlla Albrecht posted her first double-double of the season, finishing with 14 points and 13 boards, while Kyndall Keller added nine points, eight rebounds, and three assists.

Alyssa Alvarez was the top option for the Firestrorm, finishing with a team-high 20 points in the win.

Carroll will have a quick turnaround, as they will head to Bozeman for an exhibition against Montana State tomorrow night at 7 p.m.

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

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