HELENA, Mont. - The No. 6-ranked Carroll Women's Basketball team got the 2024 NAIA Women's Basketball Championship First Round - presented by Ballogy started with an emphatic 89-49 win over Embry-Riddle (Ariz.) on Friday night.

The Fighting Saints (25-5, 14-1) posted the largest margin of victory in any of the 32 First Round games played on Friday evening, cruising to a 40-point win over the Eagles (19-13, 14-6) in front of a large and loud crowd at the PE Center.

Right from the opening tip, little was going to stop a determined Saints side from winning tonight's game. Carroll shot lights out in the first frame, scoring 22 points on 64 percent (9-14) from the floor as a team. The front court tandem of Jamie Pickens (Helena, Mont. / GR) and Maddie Geritz (Boise, Idaho / GR) proved to be too much for ERAU to handle, with the pair each scoring six in the first. Carroll would lead after one, 22-10.

The Eagles responded in the second quarter, scoring 18 points as they settled into the hostile environment, but they still couldn't chip into the Carroll lead. Pickens added another 10 points in the second quarter, and Carroll extended the lead to 14 at the break, 42-28.

The Saints blew the doors right off the game in the third quarter. A smothering defensive effort held the Eagles to just five points in the frame. On the flip side, another 64 percent shooting quarter for the Saints led to a 27-point explosion. Eight different Saints scored in the third while forcing seven ERAU turnovers.

Coach Sayers was able to go to her bench with the game well in hand in the fourth, and the Carroll reserves performed well. Carroll shot over 40 percent from the floor for the fourth straight quarter, finishing the game at 56.5 percent in one of their best shooting performances of the season. A 20-16 final frame in favor of the Saints led to the 89-49 final.

Jamie Pickens again showed why she is a front-runner to be named another All-American, leading all scorers with 24 points, also pulling down eight boards and doling out four assists.

Willa Albrecht (Billings, Mont. / R-JR) was all over the court, finishing with 11 points, seven rebounds, four steals and a block.

Meagan Karstetter (Moses Lake, Wash. / SO) and Isabelle Erickson (Broadview, Mont. / R-SO) were great off of the bench, combining for 11 points while Erickson tallied six boards.

The Saints will return to their home court tomorrow night at 7:30 p.m. for a showdown with No. 7-seed Oregon Tech and a trip to Sioux City, Iowa and the NAIA Tournament Final Site on the line.

Tickets for tomorrow's game are available HERE, or at the door.

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