Carroll stops Warriors in Frontier tourney semis
Copyright The Trib

BUTTE, Mont. -- Lewis-Clark State had the hot hand Friday afternoon, shooting 54 percent from the floor. But Carroll's field-goal accuracy was just as good, and its shot selection a little better.

Moreover, the Saints held a distinct advantage at the free throw line, and that was enough for them to pull off what has to be considered a minor upset.

Third-seeded Carroll knocked off the No. 2 Warriors 86-83 in the semifinals of the Frontier Conference women's basketball tournament. The Saints go on to today's championship game, where they'll face top-seeded Montana-Western for an automatic berth to the NAIA Division national tournament.

But the victor will have FC companionship at nationals, at Jackson, Tenn., beginning March 15, and L-C will be part of the contingent. The Warriors, ranked ninth in the final Division I poll, are assured an at-large berth. So are Montana-Western and Carroll, ranked eighth and 12th respectively.

The 32-team field will be announced Tuesday, and the pairings will be released Wednesday.

L-C (25-6) connected on 33 of 61 field goal attempts, heady accuracy that Carroll almost identically matched (25-for-46, 54.3 percent).

The Saints, however, drained eight 3-pointers to the Warriors' three and converted an impressive 28 of 31 free throws. L-C went 14-for-23 from the line.

Carroll's final 3-pointer, by Carly Syverson, broke an 83-all tie with 10 seconds to play.

Following an L-C timeout, a 3-pointer by the Warriors' Jade Fullbright missed its mark. Carroll corralled the rebound and ran out the clock.

That wasted a stirring comeback by L-C, which trailed by 15 points with six minutes remaining. After cutting the deficit to single digits, the Warriors outscored Carroll 8-3 over a 1 1/2-minute span to make it a one-possession game. Then Janeen Nelson's 3-pointer tied it at 83 with 33 seconds left.

Katya Yencheva blocked a Carroll shot on the ensuing possession. But the Saints maintained control and got the game-winning trey from Syverson.

L-C post Aundrea Morrison led all scorers with 28 points, while Fulbright added 19.

Carroll had four players crack double-digit scoring, led by Andrea Hall with 21.

CARROLL (27-5)

Woody 5-7 6-7 16, Syverson 3-9 6-7 16, Maloney 3-9 2-2 10, Rochelle 1-1 0-0 2, Fuzesy 3-7 2-2 10, Kane 0-0 0-0 0, Forney 2-3 3-4 7, Brooks 1-1 4-4 6, Hall 5-9 8-9 21, Rodgers 2-4 1-1 5. Totals 25-46 28-31 86.

LEWIS-CLARK ST. (25-6)

Hart 1-4 2-4 4, Wittmer 2-2 0-0 4, Baker 1-6 2-6 4, Preston 0-0 0-0 0, Yancheva 5-6 1-1 12, Nelson 2-4 0-0 5, West 1-2 0-0 2, Fulbright 9-14 1-2 19, Kalbfleisch 2-8 0-0 5, Morrison 10-15 8-10 28. Totals 33-61 14-23 83.

Halftime -- Carroll 38, LCSC 36. Total fouls -- Carroll 18, LCSC 24. Fouled out -- none. Three-point goals -- Carroll 8-18 (Hall 3-6, Syverson 2-4, Fuzesy 2-6, Rochelle 1-1, Brooks 1-1, Woody 0-1), LCSC 3-11 (Yancheva 1-2, Nelson 1-2, Kalbfleisch 1-5, Hart 0-1, Fulbright 0-1). Rebounds -- Carroll 30 (Woody 7), LCSC 28 (Fulbright 5). Assists -- Carroll 11 (Syverson 2), LCSC 11 (Hart 5).