HELENA, Mont. - The No. 21-ranked Carroll Women's Basketball team picked up their first top-25 win of the season, topping No. 18 Mayville State on Friday evening at the Carroll College PE Center.

The Fighting Saints (5-3) led wire-to-wire over the No. 18 Comets (7-2) in the premier NAIA Women's matchup of the evening.

Carroll came out and grabbed an early lead thanks to a pair of three-pointers from Kyndall Keller (Havre, Mont. / R-SR), opening the game on a 12-2 run over the first five and a half minutes. In total, the Saints went 43 percent from deep in the first, leading to a nine-point advantage heading into the second, 22-13.

Things stiffened up on the defensive side on both ends of the court in the second. Carroll finished the frame with a 31 percent field goal percentage, and the Comets would be held to just 23 percent (4-17). Carroll extended their lead to its largest margin of the game at 14 with just under four minutes remaining, but an 8-0 run to end the half by the Comets would narrow the lead to six at the break, 32-26.

The back court tandem of Keller and Addi Ekstrom (Bozeman, Mont. / SR) combined for all 12 of Carroll's third quarter points, but a balanced effort from Mayville would see five different players score a combined 15 points, again cutting into the Carroll lead. 

Meagan Karstetter (Moses Lake, Wash. / JR) knocked down a pair of shots in the paint to open the fourth quarter and give the Saints a little breathing room, but a pesky Comet team would not give in. Carroll held a lead as large as eight points in the fourth, but following several turnovers and missed opportunities the Comets tied things up at 58-58 with a minute remaining.

Addi Ekstrom provided the dagger, burying a corner three to put the Saints ahead for good, followed by a pair of Keller free throws to seal the deal.

Keller led all players, finishing with a game-high 21 points on a 7-16 shooting night. The redshirt-senior also pulled down seven boards and dished out five assists. Ekstrom added 15 points, six rebounds and three assists, while Willa Albrecht (Billings, Mont. / R-JR) finished with nine points and seven rebounds.

The Comets were led by 18 points off the bench from Misti Zempel, as well as near double-doubles from Mackenzie Hughes (17 points, 9 rebs) and Jes Mertens (14 points, 9 rebs).

Carroll will now head to the desert for the annual Cactus Classic in two weeks where they'll square off with three more ranked or receiving votes teams.

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

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