HELENA, Mont. - In front of 2,100 of the loudest little Saints in Helena, the No. 16-Ranked Carroll Women's Basketball team picked up their first win of the 2025-26 campaign with a 79-58 win over (RV) Wayland Baptist on Thursday at the PE Center.

It's been a marathon week for the Fighting Saints (1-1), playing four games in a span of seven days - capped with a 21-point redemption win over the Flying Queens (0-1), who knocked them out of the NAIA WBB Championship in the Opening Round last spring.

The Champions of Character Field Trip Game saw over 2,100 local elementary students pack the stands and pierce the eardrums in one of the most fun environments the Saints will see all year.

"It was an amazing environment today," said Head Coach Rachelle Sayers "you can't beat the energy that those kids bring to the game. We were the first school in Montana to do the Field trip game and every year it seems like it just gets better and better."

Willa Albrecht (Billings, Mont. / R-SR) gave the kids plenty to cheer about on Thursday. The 2024-25 All-Conference performer was simply outstanding in the win, posting a monster 28-point, 17-rebound double-double to lead a young group of Saints still finding their footing in the early season.

"Willa was phenomenal today, she dominated the game on both ends. Her game has evolved in so many ways -17 rebounds from the guard position is unbelievable."

While Albrecht was the game's leading scorer, it was newcomer Kennedi Niemann (Cody, Wyo / R-SO) who helped set the tone. The transfer guard scored a team-high 13 points in the first half, going 3-3 from range and shooting 83 percent from the floor to help give Carroll a 39-28 lead at the break.

The Flying Queens tried to make a run coming out of the half, as the third quarter was the lone frame of the day in which they outscored the Saints. Albrecht's 11 points, paired with timely buckets from the Carroll bench kept WBU from making too much of a dent - keeping a 10-point lead heading into the fourth.

The Carroll defense was lights out in the fourth, limiting Wayland Baptist to just 18 percent from the field (2-11), while Albrecht and Kenzie Allen (Grantsville, Utah / JR) combined four 12 points to close out the win - much to the delight of the energetic crowd.

"Wayland (Baptist) is a great team with a tradition of success in the NAIA, so it was a great game to play and to get the win before moving right into conference play. I thought our players responded well after a really tough stretch of three games on the road in six days. This team has been battle-tested and it will only make us better as we prepare for a very competitive Frontier Conference."

With the new 12-team Frontier Conference, the Saints will start league play much earlier than normal - opening the conference slate on the road next Friday at No. 21 Rocky next Friday at 5 p.m.