HELENA, Mont. – If not for a slow first quarter, (13) Lady Argo basketball would have left Helena with a confident win over (25) Carroll College, but a nine point Carroll lead at the end of the first quarter meant the two teams were tied at the end of regulation. In overtime, the Saints made a few more plays than the Argos, and UGF lost 64-60 OT.
 
After the first ten minutes of play, the Saints led UGF 22-13 and that lead was extended to 31-16 half way through the following quarter. After that, the Lady Argos figured some things out on both ends of the floor and were the better team for the rest of regulation.
 
"Defensively we really stepped up in the second half. We got some stops and some rebounds, and we also really moved the ball on offense," Head Coach Bill Himmelberg said. "The big thing was the grit we showed defensively."
 
UGF's comeback truly started a few minutes into the third quarter and it was a total team effort. Six different Lady Argo's scored in the period and UGF's defense held Carroll to a shooting percentage of 23 percent from the floor.
 
Carroll rediscovered its offensive rhythm in the fourth, but at that point, UGF's offense was in an even better groove. Senior center Kalani Ulufale played an outstanding final 10 minutes, scoring eight of her 10 points in the quarter along with grabbing three rebounds and getting a big steal in the final minute.
 
An and-1 finish with one minute left from senior Nneka Nnadi put UGF down 55-54 and her ensuing free throw tied the game at 55.
 
From there both teams squandered chances to win the game before overtime. UGF's senior point guard Darah Huertas-Vining missed a jumper with 30 seconds left but then drew a crucial charge on the other end that negated a potential game winning Carroll layup with 19 seconds left. Junior Stephanie McDonagh got one last look for UGF in regulation but her buzzer-beater hit iron and the teams went to extra time.
 
In overtime, UGF simply missed too many shots and turned it over twice, giving Carroll enough extra possessions to win the game.
 
Five Lady Argos combined for 54 of the team's 60 points and 29 of the team's 39 rebounds. Those five were McDonagh (17 pts., 8 rebs.), Nnadi (12 pts., 3 rebs.), Ulufale (10 pts., 5 rebs.), Huertas-Vining (9 pts., 6 rebs.), and junior Molly Herron (6 pts., 7 rebs.).
 
McDonagh didn't come all that far away from a triple-double, adding 6 steals to her 17 points and 8 rebounds.
 
The loss leaves UGF still looking for its first Frontier Conference win of the season. The Lady Argos are 11-4 (0-4) on the year. 
 
"We just need to concentrate on taking care of ourselves. Every team is tough in the Frontier. No one is going to go undefeated and we could go on a run just as easily as this 0-4 run," Himmelberg said. "The big thing we need to do is bring that intensity we brought in the last three quarters tonight all the way through every game."
 
Next for UGF will be (RV) Montana Western at home on Friday, January 13 at 5:30 p.m.