The Women’s games this past weekend added some more ‘space’ between the top 3 teams in the conference and the rest of the Frontier.

Carroll College went 2-0 on the weekend, starting with a big 72-60 win over Western in Dillon. The Saints jumped out to a 24-8 first-quarter lead, and never let Western climb back in. Jamie Pickens finished with 18 points for the Saints, leading 4 ladies in double digits. On Saturday, Carroll rolled to a 72-46 win over Montana Tech, holding the Diggs to 18 second-half points. The Saints have won 4 straight conference games and 10 of their last 11 overall.

The Battlin’ Bears went stride for stride with the Saints, going 2-0 on the weekend as well. With a 72-46 win over Montana Tech on Thursday, followed by a 76-41 downing of the Skylights on Saturday. Rocky finished with 12 points off turnovers and 19 points off the bench vs. the Orediggers.  Kloie Thatcher was the high scorer in both contests for the Bears, finishing with 12 against the Orediggers, and 18 in the book versus the Skylights. In the win over Northern, the Bears 3 had players in double figures, and 9 total get points in the game. The Battlin Bears finished with 30 points off turnovers against the Skylights.

The Bulldogs of UM Western are now a game back of first place, going 1-1 this past weekend. In the Carroll loss, they just dug themselves too deep a hole in the first quarter, shooting 25% from the field they went down 24-8 and were just never able to recover. On Saturday they hung one in the win column, with an 84-74 victory over Providence. Western led by 1 at the half, stretched that out to 7 after 3, and hung on for the win over the final frame. Fitzgerald led the Bulldogs in both contests, 12 against Carroll, and she dropped 20 against the Argos. Carroll and Western have one more game on the schedule, Saturday, February 4th in Dillon.

I think Providence had a nice weekend. They started against Northern, in a pretty good game through the first 20 minutes. The second 20 minutes completely belonged to the Argos, holding the Lights to 17 second-half points. Maddy Dixon led the Argos with 22 against Northern, Brooklyn Harn finished with 18. Against Western both teams were on fire in the first half, Western hitting 53% of their shots, and Providence at a blistering 61%. Those numbers did fall off a bit in the second half, and Western was able to scrape out a win on the road, but not after a great fight by Providence. Reed Hazard put up 26 in the effort.

The Montana Tech ladies had a pair of road games against the two in the conference. Thursday had the Diggs in Billings to battle the Bears. Another solid game at the half, Tech led by 1. With 30 minutes in the books Tech led by 2, and then the wheels fell off. Rocky outscored Tech 17-3 in the final frame to get the win 60-48. Tech went 1-12 over the final 10 minutes. Tavia Rooney led the Diggs with 14 points, and 9 rebounds. Dani Urick got into double digits with 10. Against the Saints on Saturday, I feel like the only way to put it is, Carroll was incredibly efficient. Neither team turned the ball over, Carroll was able to convert a few more offensive rebounds into points. Carroll just shot the ball better over 40 minutes. The Tech ladies continue to play so incredibly hard. A home game on Thursday will be good for them.

The Skylights went 0-2 on the road this weekend with losses at Providence 68-40, and then 76-41 at Rocky on Saturday. With starters on the bench due to injury, the Skylights have had turnover issues, 14 against Providence, and 24 against the Bears. You know Northern will continue to fight, they are well-coached and will always be ready.

With 4 weeks in the books, here is a look at the Frontier Conference Standings.  (Conference record- Overall record)

#18 Carroll College                 7-1         16-5
#20 Rocky Mountain              7-1         15-5
#12 UM Western                    6-2         18-3
Providence                      2-6         12-9
Montana Tech                 2-6         6-12
MSU Northern                 0-8         7-14

Here is a look at this week’s games:

Thursday:

UM Western @ MSU Northern
Rocky Mountain @ Carroll College
Providence @ Montana Tech

Saturday:

Montana Tech @ MSU Northern
Carroll @ Providence
Western @ Rocky

A look back at the Frontier men's weekend can be found HERE.

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