HELENA, Mont. - The No. 22-ranked Carroll Women's Basketball team dropped their second Frontier Conference game of the season on Saturday, falling 50-43 at No. 23 Providence at the McLaughlin Center.

The Fighting Saints (13-7, 5-2) had everything working in the first half, but struggled to knock down shots in the second half, dropping the second of three matchups with the Argos on Saturday.

Carroll got the hot start in the McLaughlin Center, jumping out to an 8-2 lead in the first three minutes, before the home team settled in and started to battle back. The back and forth first quarter saw Carroll come out on top, 13-10 following a Willa Albrecht (Billings, Mont. / R-JR) bucket in the final minute.

The Carroll defense, No. 8 in the NAIA in points per game, flexed their muscle in the second quarter, holding Providence to just 2-10 from the field. Kyndall Keller (Havre, Mont. / R-SR) and Addi Ekstrom (Bozeman, Mont. / SR) each hit a three in the frame, while Ellie Denny (Fairfield, Wash. / SO) came off the bench and dropped a pair of threes to help extend the Carroll lead to 11 at the break, 30-19.

The Saints struggled to get anything going in the third quarter, making just one of their 13 shot attempts to allow the Argos to climb back in the game. 

With a slim 33-31 lead entering the final frame, Carroll again saw the majority of their shots fall offline. The Saints shot just 25 percent (4-16) from the floor in the final ten minutes, while Providence managed to convert their opportunities down the stretch (46.7 percent) to run away with the late comeback win.

Keller was the lone Saint to score in double figures, finishing with 12 points and six rebounds. Willa Albrecht finished with eight points, seven boards, and a pair of blocks.

Providence's Taliah Lee led all players with 16 points, while Keanna Salave'a had an 11-point, 14 rebound double-double.

The Saints will now turn their attention towards a Thursday night matchup with Montana Tech in Helena, as they look to keep their position atop the Frontier standings.

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

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