GREAT FALLS — The Providence women’s basketball team is back on top of the Frontier Conference for the first time since 2020.
After a late fourth-quarter run helped knock off two-time defending champ Carroll College, the Argos are riding high as they continue on in the postseason.
“It’s amazing. I mean we’ve been practicing, playing, and everything just leading up to this moment,” said freshman Monique Carter. “It just feels great to finally get something out of it.”
“Just ecstatic, so happy for the girls. They put in a lot of hard work,” said head coach Bill Himmelberg. “Carroll is a great team and to be able to get a victory against someone of that caliber is very special.”
There were a lot of new faces on the Providence roster this year, and just very few returners from last year's squad. However, the ones that did come back after losing to Carroll in the 2023 semifinals got to enjoy this victory a little bit more.
“It means a lot. I’ve been in this situation over and over again and finally getting over that hump just feels amazing,” said Kolby Pimperton. “It’s just great to be here and have this team that all wants to be out on the court and play hard for each other.”
After celebrating in every possible way they could, the team will now have a quick turnaround and focus on the NAIA tournament. They will be looking to make the deepest tournament run in program history. To this point, Providence women have not surpassed the quarterfinals at nationals.
“We want to play our best and we’re at our best right now. We do have a week off before we host and thats a benefit in getting that support and being able to host here, but theres really no time off,” said graduate transfer Ashlee Maldonado. “Obviously we’re going to rest, get our bodies and get our minds right but we have another end goal that we want to achieve and be successful for post season.”
“We’ll celebrate the next couple of days here and starting Tuesday we’ll be back in the gym getting up shots. We got some things we can fine tune from here that we didn’t do very well and Carroll took advantage of us on some things we need to fix because this film will be in the hands of other people,” said Himmelberg.
Not only will they be making their eighth national tournament appearance, but it’s also the first time in the program history that the Argos will be hosting first- and second-round tournament games.
“It’s just a special time. It’s exciting to see us be able to do something like that. It just shows we’re a national power and we’re continuing to build our program,” Himmelberg explained.
“We’re super happy. It’s our first time in program history,” said Maldonado. “I mean just to have the fanbase behind us, families coming to support, that changes it for us. Just to host and have that support there means a lot for our program and our team and having to do that at home is the best thing”
The tournament will get underway on March 15 with the Argos opponent to be determined. The full tournament bracket will be released Thursday.
