Hot start propels Carroll women to a win in the Armory

The showdown between the Montana State University-Northern Skylights and Carroll College Fighting Saints to start the 2020 portion of the Frontier Conference season had the makings of a big, big game.

The only thing big, however, ended up being the runs the Fighting Saints made in the first and third quarters, as No. 25 Carroll dominated No. 11 Northern 63-49 Tuesday night in the Armory Gymnasium. The loss was MSU-N's first in Frontier play, as the Skylights fell to 2-1 and 13-2 overall, while the Saints, led by former Havre Blue Pony Dani Wagner, improved to 2-1 in league play and 10-5 overall.

"Full credit to Carroll," Northern head coach Chris Mouat said. "They came in here ready to play, they were more physical then we were. There are goals we had tonight. We wanted to win on the boards, and we didn't do that. We wanted to limit our turnovers and we didn't do that. That's a credit to Carroll and their pressure defense, we just didn't handle it well. And at the end of the day, I just thought they played harder than us."

The start Carroll got off to was indeed big. The Skylights came into the game leading the NAIA in scoring defense, allowing just 46 points per night. But seven early points from Wagner sparked Carroll to an 11-0 run, a 17-2 lead, and ultimately, a 19-7 first quarter.

But, as good as the Saints played for much of the first half, Tiara Gilham ended the first quarter in a flourish for the Skylights, and she did the same late in the second.

With Carroll leading 33-16, Peyton Kehr hit a 3-pointer, then Gilham scored on a steal, and eventually, MSU-N would rattle off 10 unanswered points, including a triple from Gilham to end the first half with Northern trailing just 34-28.

"I liked how we came back," Mouat said. "We were in a pretty big hole tonight, so credit to our kids for battling back. T (Tiara Gilham) really sparked us."

While Northern seemed to have the momentum at the break, Carroll was having none of it. The Saints started the third quarter on an 8-0 run, and while Allix Goldhahn put a halt to it with a trey, the Saints ended the period on another 10-0 run, and led 54-38. From there, Northern just couldn't catch up.

And the Skylights couldn't catch up because of a Carroll defense that forced 23 turnovers, while the Saints also shot 40 percent from the field and had 12 offensive rebounds. Wagner led the way with 15 points and five boards, while Maddie Geritz came off the bench to add 11 for the Saints.

On the other end, Northern shot 44 percent for the game and made six threes. But long scoring lulls in both the first and third quarters ultimately did the Skylight offense in. Gilham did score a game-high 16 points. Kenya Lorton added eight, including a pair of threes, while Hailey Nicholson and McKenzie Gunter, playing in her first game since she suffered a shoulder injury, combined for 12 more.

"I know we can play better," Mouat said. "I know we're better than this. But again, full credit to Carroll. They were more physical, they were stronger, and they were the better team tonight. So we need to learn from this, and get ready for a very good Providence team on Thursday night."

The loss was a tough one for Northern, but they'll have no time to dwell as the Skylights travel to Great Falls Thursday for another rivalry game when they battle the University of Providence Argos.

Skylights are 2-1 in Frontier, 13-2 overall; Next Up: at Providence Thursday

Carroll 63, Skylights 49

Carroll 19 15 20 9 - 63

MSU-Northern 7 21 10 11 - 49

CC - Emerald Toth 3-6 3-4 9, Dani Wagner 6-15 2-2 15, Christine Denny 4-10 0-0 8, Kamden Hilborn 1-6 1-1 2, Sienna Swannack 3-6 0-0 6, Jaidyn Lyman 3-7 2-2 9, Maddie Geritz 4-7 1-4 11, Taylor Salonen 1-4 1-2 3. Totals: 25-62 11-14.

MSU-N - Hailey Nicholson 3-8 0-0 6, Sydney Hovde 0-2 1-2 1, Allix Goldhahn 2-7 0-0 5, McKenzie Gunter 2-7 2-4 6, Peyton Kehr 1-2 0-0 3, Kenya Lorton 3-4 0-0 5, Petra Sellin 0-0 0-0 0, Ryley Kehr 0-0 0-0 0, Morgan Mason 1-1 0-0 2, Tiara Gilham 7-12 0-0 16. Totals: 19-43 5-8.

3-pt FG:Carroll (Mont.) 2-13 (Wagner 1-6, Lyman 1-3, Swannack 0-2, Hilborn 0-1, Geritz 0-1), Montana State University- 6-13 (Lorton 2-2, Goldhahn 1-4, Nicholson 0-1, Gunter 0-1, Kehr 1-1, Gilham 2-4). Rebounds: Carroll (Mont.) 29 (Toth 7), Montana State University- 27 (Lorton 5, Nicholson 5, Gilham 5). Fouls Carroll (Mont.) 14, Montana State University- 13. Fouled out: none.