BUTTE — No. 8 Carroll College women and No. 11 Montana Tech men are both atop the Frontier Conference standings after Thursday's doubleheader at the HPER Complex.
The Saints women's team currently holds a two-game lead over No. 13 Providence, but pulled away late to secure the win, while the Odigers relied on a first-half score to beat Carroll and take sole possession of first place. . frontier.
Here's a synopsis of both games:
8th Carroll University Women's 61, Montana Tech University 48
The Saints came to Butte looking for a comeback win after suffering their first conference loss to Providence on Saturday, and they found it.
Maddie Gerrits scored a game-high 18 points, Jamie Pickens had a double-double with 14 points and 13 rebounds, and Carroll outscored Tech 13-3 in the fourth quarter for a double-digit victory at Frontier. They improved their ranking to 7 wins and 1 loss.
This, combined with Montana Western's 69-52 victory over Providence (5-3), gave the Saints a two-game advantage in the conference standings.
Tech's Aubrey Rademacher hit a game-tying jump shot with just under seven minutes left in the game, and Gerrits hit a 3-pointer on Carroll's next possession, giving the Saints the lead for good.
Willa Albrecht added 12 points and eight boards for the Saints.
The Oredigers, who fell to 1-7 against Frontier, were led by Rademacher and Brooklyn Hankwitz with 12 points each, and Chloe Santeford added eight points.
11th Montana Tech Men's 90, Carroll University 66
The Odiggers are now in full control of their destiny heading into the second half of the Frontier schedule.
Asa Williams scored 23 points, including five 3-pointers. Krishon Dixon had 17 points on 6-of-8 shooting and Caleb Berach added 15 points for Tech, which jumped out to a double-digit lead less than five minutes into the game before rallying. The two teams were 6-1 in conference play and had a big win over the Saints.
Tech currently holds a one-game lead over Carroll and has won its first two games against the Saints.
The Odiggers have won three consecutive games by double digits since losing to Providence on Jan. 20.
“I'm really excited about how we've been playing lately,” Tech head coach Adam Hiatt said. “There is no selfishness, the ball is moving selflessly, the players are playing with great confidence and we are defending. This is just a great recipe for success.”
Tech shot 55.7 percent from the floor and 40.7 percent from 3-point range. The Audigers led by as many as 29 points late in the second half.
The Saints were paced by Andrew Cook's 20 points and seven rebounds and Kendall Moore's 15 points.
The Montana Tech men and women will travel to western Montana on Saturday, when Carroll will host Rocky Mountain College.
