For the first time in Frontier Conference basketball history, two of its members squared off in the NAIA Women’s Tournament semifinals. For the fifth time in 2023-24, the University of Providence and Carroll College tangled, but this go-round with the stakes higher than ever because a championship berth was on the line.
The game was a lockdown battle throughout with the Lady Argos maintaining a (27-19) lead at halftime. A (10-0) Providence run and holding Jamie Pickens to just two points in the first 20 minutes put the Great Falls team ahead.
The Carroll comeback was on in the third as they outscored Providence, (18-9) with Pickens recording eight points in the period. Former Havre Blue Pony Kyndall Keller hit a go-ahead layup as time expired and the Saints took a (37-36) lead into the final quarter.
Back and forth the two teams went in the final frame. Clutch free throw shooting by Providence was met with answers from beyond the arc by Carroll, including Keller’s team-high 17 points as she drained a triple to cut it to a (56-53) game with 13 seconds left in regulation. The ensuing possession saw All-American Ashlee Maldonado drain free throws to ice it for the Lady Argos, who won it, (58-53) to advance to the school’s first NAIA National Championship Game.
Maldonado led everyone with 22 points, while Pickens recorded a double-double in her final game with 16 and 16 as well as broke 2,000 career points and became Carroll’s all-time leading rebounder.
Carroll’s season ended with 28 wins, while Providence will try to knock off its second No. 1 seed of the tournament in Dordt for a chance at a title, which takes place Tuesday night in Sioux City, IA.
