By The Carroll College Women’s Basketball team started their season facing Indiana Wesleyan, a top-five ranked team. The Saints would fall short in the final seconds of the game suffering their first loss of the season 62-60.
The Saints held a four-point lead with 46 seconds left in the final frame, but four straight Indiana Wesleyan free throws and a costly Carroll turnover cost the Saints the game.
Maddie Geritz, a graduate senior from Boise, Idaho, studying elementary education, had 18 points and five rebounds. Jamie Pickens, a nursing major, and Helena native, scored 12 points and pulled down 10 rebounds.
For their second game, the Saints traveled to Spokane, Washington, to take on the Whitworth Pirates, an NCAA Division III school. That game ended in a 64-54 win for the Saints.
In the first quarter, Whitworth would jump to an early lead, stemming from Carroll’s defensive disconnection. Eventually, the Saints would find their rhythm and lead Whitworth 18-14 after the first.
Pickens led all players with 27 points, 15 rebounds, two steals and a block. Gertiz added 14 points for the Saints squad.
The Fighting Saints traveled to Phoenix to take on Arizona Christian University (ACU) and Embry Riddle Aeronautical University (ERAU) on Saturday, Nov. 11.
Their first game ended in a tight 77-74 loss to Arizona Christian University, making the Saints (1-2). Two of ACU’s players combined for 59 of their 77 points, and 38 came from guard Lauren Gunn of ACU.
Kyndal Keller, a junior business major out of Havre, Montana, and Pickens, notched 10 points between the two to make the score 14-12 after one quarter.
The second quarter would bring an impressive shooting performance for ACU, going 62.5% from the three-point line, and unfortunately, the Saints would not do the same.
Willa Albrecht, a junior out of Billings majoring in biology, would push the Saints squad forward, along with Keller, making the score within one but ultimately could not top ACU.
Two of the Saints had double-doubles in the loss. Keller finished with 18 points as the leading scorer of the Saints. Albrecht finished with 17 points and 13 rebounds, and Pickens notched 14 points and 12 rebounds.
“It was a tough loss for us, but we are learning things as we go, and we are looking forward to our next game,” said Keller. “We have to have that next game mentality and move on.”
That is exactly what the Saints did on Monday afternoon against the ERAU Eagles to end the Arizona trip with a win.
The Saints brought pressure to the Eagles, along with a fast offensive start leading, 15-7 into the second quarter. The Saints would continue to lead throughout the game with a final score of 61-46.
Pickens posted another double-double with 17 points and 11 rebounds. Geritz had 13 points for the Saints. Keller had 12 points for the squad.
“I thought our team did a great job of turning around from the last game and getting a split on the road,” said Geritz. “This team has a ton of potential, and we are going to be playing our best basketball in March.”
