(Editor’s note: Carroll College media releases)
HELENA — The Carroll College men’s and women’s basketball teams earned a Frontier Conference sweep of Montana State-Northern Saturday in the PE Center. The seventh-ranked Carroll women ran past Northern 78-57, while Carroll’s 22nd-ranked men notched a 91-76 win.
No. 7 Carroll College women 78, Montana State-Northern 57
Senior guard Brittney Johnson hit seven three pointers on her way to a career high 23 points and the No. 7 Carroll College Saints beat Montana State-Northern 78-57 on Saturday in the PE Center.
Johnson hit 7-of-12 of her three point attempts, many of them coming from the corner of the court. It was the most three pointers made in a game by a player since Kalee Junkermeier hit nine three pointers on Feb. 2, 2015.
“Britt loves that corner three,” Saints coach Rachelle Sayers said. “Any time we can feed her in that corner we love to do it. We were trying everything we could to get the ball to Hannah Dean to find Britt Johnson.”
The win gave the Saints (6-2) a 2-0 start to Frontier Conference play.
Danielle Wagner (12) and Hannah Dean (10) joined Johnson in double figures. Dean posted a near triple-double, adding seven rebounds and seven assists to her 10 points. She also had three steals on the night.
The Saints built a 29-24 lead by halftime, but it was the third quarter where the Saints struck hardest. Carroll outscored Northern 30-16 in the third period.
The Saints weathered a cold shooting night from the free-throw line, hitting just 8-of-19 free throws. A 51 percent clip from the field and a 43 percent mark from the three-point line powered the Saints’ offense.
Carroll also forced a banged-up Skylights team into 24 turnovers.
Peyton Kehr led the Skylights with 17 points and Sam Caruth joined her in double figures with 11.
The Saints go back into non-conference play until Dec. 29. The Saints will host University of Alberta Augustana on Dec. 9, before hitting the road for four games in the middle of December.
Notes: Hannah Dean is five points away from 1,000… It was the second consecutive game the Saints scored at least 70 points.
No. 22 Carroll College men 91, Montana State-Northern 76
Match Burnham scored a game-high 26 points and the No. 22 Carroll College Saints defeated Montana State-Northern 91-76 on Saturday in the PE Center.
The win gave the Saints a 2-0 start in conference and kept their unbeaten streak alive at 11-0.
“That’s a team that runs very good stuff and has very good players,” Saints coach Kurt Paulson said. “They wear on you for 40 minutes in the half court.”
Northern went tit-for-tat with Carroll in the opening frame, battling back at the end of the half to tie the game at 45.
Carroll cranked up its defense in the second half, holding the Lights to 31 points.
“We turned up a little bit of the pressure,” Paulson said. “We sped them up and I thought they took a few quick shots and we rebounded it and raced out and got to the free throw line. That’s where we separated.”
Carroll knocked down 25-of-28 free throws, led by Burnham’s perfect 9-for-9 night at the stripe.
Joining the senior from Spangle, Washington, in double figures were Dane Warp (19), Shamrock Campbell (16) Matt Wyman (double-double 15, 10 rebounds) and Jovan Sljivancanin (12).
While the Saints have become accustomed to Burnham, Warp and Wyman stuffing the stat sheet this season, the freshmen have proved to be just as consistent.
“That’s pretty impressive,” Paulson said of his freshmen’s contributions. “They’re both freshmen. They’re great students. They’re great people. The guys love them.”
Carroll built an 11-point lead in the first 10 minutes of the second half, but Northern battled back. The Lights cut it down to three points with six minutes to go, but the Saints used a pair of Brad King free throws and a three by Sljivancanin to make it a three-possession game.
Northern’s offensive execution withered in the final five minutes as the Saints’ lead ballooned to double figures.
Carroll shot 55 percent from the field, 75 percent from the three-point line and 90 percent from the foul line.
Up next, the Saints travel to Canada for a pair of games against the University of Calgary on Dec. 6 and 7.
NOTES: In just 11 games this season, Warp has scored more points than he did in 31 games last season… The Saints’ 11-0 starts is one of the best in school history… Last season’s team started 15-0.
