HELENA, Mont. - The No. 8-ranked Carroll Women's Basketball team knocked off No. 14 Providence 62-47 to secure at worst a share of the Frontier Conference Championship on Thursday evening at the PE Center.

The Fighting Saints (20-4, 10-2) clinched at least a share of their fifth Frontier title in the last seven years, racing away from the Argonauts (17-8, 8-4) to avenge their lone Frontier loss on the season.

The first quarter saw the Saints suffer from similar struggles as the last meeting between the teams. Once again, Carroll missed shots that would normally fall (5-15 FG), while the Argos seemed to get every bounce to fall their way (5-9), and Providence would hold a 14-12 lead after one.

Things levefled out from a field goal standpoint in the second (CC 42.9 %, UP 36.4%) but the Saints couldn't seem to find a way to create any real separation from the Argos, and the game would enter halftime at a 26-26 deadlock.

Early foul trouble sidelined Jamie Pickens (Helena, Mont. / GR) and Kyndall Keller (Havre, Mont. / JR) for the majority of the second, but a seven point effort from Maddie Geritz (Boise, Idaho / GR) kept Carroll right in the game.

An injury to Providence's Ashlee Maldonado forced the Argos to head to their bench, and Carroll began to take control of the game in the third. The front court tandem of Gertiz and Pickens combined to outscore the Argos as a whole in the third, and Carroll would head into the fourth with a 45-39 lead.

Six points and seven boards from the Frontier Conference Player of the Year front-runner Pickens would help close the door on a Providence comeback effort, and Carroll would walk out with the 15-point win and another trophy to add to the already-stuffed case in the PE Center lobby.

Carroll won the rebounding battle, 30-27, matching their conference-leading 7.0 rebounding margin on the year.

Pickens ended her night with a smooth 22-point, 14-rebound performance, both game-highs.

Maddie Geritz added 18 points and Kyndall Keller finished with 14 points to help lead Carroll to their 20th win of the season.

Providence was led by a pair of 10-point efforts from Kolby Pimperton and Monique Carter.

The Saints will look to wrap up the outright Frontier title race on Saturday against a Montana Tech team that has only won three conference games all year.

Visit www.carrollathleitcs.com for a preview of that game, and to stay up to date with everything gonig on in Carroll Athletics.