BUTTE — The No. 8 Carroll College women and No. 11 Montana Tech men are both atop the Frontier Conference basketball standings following Thursday's doubleheader at the HPER Complex.
The Saints women, who now have a two-game lead over No. 13 Providence, pulled away late to secure the win, while the Oredigger men leaned on a first-half scoring blitz to blow past Carroll and move into sole possession of first place in the Frontier.
Here's a look at both games:
No. 8 Carroll College women 61, Montana Tech 48
The Saints came to Butte looking for a bounce-back win after suffering their first conference loss to Providence on Saturday, and they found it.
Maddie Geritz racked up a game-high 18 points and Jamie Pickens notched a double-double with 14 points and 13 rebounds as Carroll outscored Tech 13-3 in the fourth quarter to win by double digits and improve to 7-1 in the Frontier.
That coupled with Montana Western's 69-52 victory over Providence (5-3) gave the Saints a two-game edge in the conference standings.
Tech's Aubrie Rademacher hit a tying jump shot with just under seven minutes remaining in the game before Geritz hit a 3-pointer on Carroll's next possession to give the Saints the lead for good.
Willa Albrecht added 12 points and eight boards for the Saints.
The Orediggers, who fell to 1-7 in Frontier play, were led by 12 points apiece from Rademacher and Brooklyn Hankwitz while Chloe Santeford added eight points.
No. 11 Montana Tech men 90, Carroll College 66
The Orediggers are now in full control of their destiny as they head into the back half of the Frontier schedule.
Asa Williams went off for 23 points — including five 3-pointers — Chrishon Dixon scored 17 on 6-of-8 shooting, and Caleb Bellach added 15 as Tech stormed to a double-digit lead less than five minutes into the game and then rolled to a blowout victory over the Saints in a meeting between two teams that were 6-1 in conference play.
Tech now has a one-game lead over Carroll and has won its first two meetings over the Saints.
The Orediggers have now rolled to three straight double-digit wins after falling to Providence on Jan. 20.
"I'm really ecstatic with the way we're playing lately," said Tech head coach Adam Hiatt. "There's zero selfishness, the ball is moving unselfishly, guys are playing with great confidence and we're defending. It's just a great recipe for success."
Tech shot 55.7 percent from the floor and 40.7 percent from 3-point range. The Orediggers led by as many as 29 points late in the second half.
The Saints were paced by a 20-point, 7-rebound outing from Andrew Cook and 15 points from Kendall Moore.
The Montana Tech men and women travel to Montana Western on Saturday while Carroll will host Rocky Mountain College.
