GREAT FALLS, Mont. – The #16 University of Providence women's basketball team fell to Carroll College 63-51 in the semifinals of the Frontier Conference women's basketball postseason tournament Saturday night in the McLaughlin Center.

The Fighting Saints (25-6, 11-4) came out looking for revenge from last Thursday's double-overtime thriller, racing out to a quick 11-0 start. The Argos (25-6, 12-3) clawed their way back, ending the first quarter down only 16-14. The two teams continued to battle in the second quarter with the Saints taking a 32-36 lead into the break. 

The Saints came out of the break tough, extending the lead to 10 points midway through the third quarter. Maddy Dixon did her best to keep the Argos in the game, scoring nine of the team's 10 points in the third, but the Saints entered the fourth up 48-36. The squad tried to cut into the Carroll deficit, but the Saints stayed strong to come out with the victory.

"It was a tough one," head coach Bill Himmelberg said. "I thought we turned the ball over way too much. We talked about taking care of it and I thought we spit it around quite a bit. They were determined to not let Parker get the ball and they did a good job of that."

The Saints shot 50 percent from the three-point line, draining 12 of their 24 attempts. The Argos meanwhile hit only five of their long balls, finishing 5-of-19 on the night. The Saints also forced 14 Argo turnovers while only committing seven themselves.

"I thought they shot the ball really well," Himmelberg said. "When a team shoots it like that it's tough to beat them. They were firing on all cylinders. I thought we kept it close but we turned it over too much to give ourselves a chance."

Emilee Maldonado scored a team-high 18 points and was one of three Argos who pulled down seven boards. Dixon added 12 points and five rebounds for the squad. Parker Esary and Brooklyn Harn both finished with seven points and seven rebounds, while Reed Hazard also chipped in seven points.

Danielle Wagner led the Saints with 18 points on the night, including hitting four three-pointers. Sienna Swannack added 14 points for the squad.

The squad will now wait and see where they end up in the NAIA National Tournament during the National Championship Bracket Reveal, which will take place Thursday, March 3 at 5:00 p.m. MTN. The opening round of the NAIA National Championship will take place March 11-12.

"We just have to get ready and prepare for the National Tournament," Himmelberg said. "We can beat Carroll and we can beat anybody in the country. We've proven that. It's just a matter of going out and doing it. All the teams in our league can beat anybody. There's no question that we're right there. We just need to take care of business when we get the opportunity."