HELENA, Mont. - The No. 22-ranked Carroll Women's Basketball team earned an impressive 70-56 win over No. 20 Rocky Mountain College on Thrusday evening at the Carroll College PE Center.

Looking to bounce back from their lone Frontier loss on the season, the Fighting Saints (11-6, 3-1) jumped on the Battlin' Bears (11-6, 3-1) early, and never laid off in a battle between the top two-ranked teams in the Frontier Conference.

Right from the opening tip, Carroll appeared to be in a much better rhythm than Saturday's loss. Meagan Karstetter (Moses Lake, Wash. / JR) scored two quick buckets inside, and Kyndall Keller (Havre, Mont. / R-SR) knocked down a pair of three's as the Saints raced out to a quick 10-0 run to open the game. Rocky would fire right back, however, responding with an 11-0 run of their own to grab their first lead at the four-minute mark of the opening frame. All said and done, the Bears would hold a 21-18 lead after one, with both teams shooting 50 percent or better from the floor.

The Saints would continue their hot shooting into the second quarter, again shooting an even 50 percent from the floor for the second straight frame. Keller added seven more points to her tally, scoring the final five points of the half to help give the Saints a 38-33 lead at the break.

Keller led the charge in the first 20 minutes, scoring 15 of her 19 total points on the evening with Willa Albrecht (Billings, Mont. / R-JR) adding in 10 points of her own. 

Coming out of the break, Carroll once again put together a complete team effort in the third,  extending their lead behind a 19-point effort while holding Rocky to just 10 points on 27 percent shooting. All five Carroll starters made an impact in the third quarter, as Addi Ekstrom (Bozeman, Mont. / SR) took charge with seven points, Karstetter and Albrecht each scoring five, and Isabelle Erickson (Broadview, Mont. / R-JR) pulling down a pair of tough rebounds.

Rocky couldn't string together enough stops to slow down the Saints in the fourth quarter, with Carroll having an answer for nearly every attempt at the comeback. Albrecht book-ended the quarter with a pair of threes, and Carroll would emerge victorious with a 70-56 win.

Albrecht had another terrific outing, finishing with a game-high 21 points while pulling down six boards and a pair of steals. Keller cooled off a bit in the second half, but finished with 19 points, four rebounds and three steals. Ekstrom had a great night, finishing just one assist shy of a double-double (12 points, 9 rebounds), while Karstetter posted 11 points and six boards in the win.

Carroll had one of their best shooting nights of the season, finishing 28-59 (47.5 percent) from the floor while also out-rebounding the Bears 36-26 in the win.

Iliana Moran finished with 13 points to lead the Bears, with Paige Wasson adding 10 points and six rebounds.

Carroll will wrap up its first lap around the Frontier on Saturday, heading to the hi-line for a showdown with the Skylights at 2 p.m.

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

FOLLOW THE FIGHTING SAINTS
Facebook: @carrollcollegeathletics
Instagram: @cc_saints
X: @CCsaints
#MarchOn