By Amber Kuehn, Helena IR

You can add All-American to Torrie Cahill’s growing list of accomplishments. The Carroll College senior women’s basketball player was named to the NAIA All-American team, which was released Wednesday.

Cahill, a guard from Miles City, was selected to the third team. She was the lone Saint to receive the honor. Westminster’s Nicole Yazzie and Cydney Tibbits made the first and third teams, respectively, and also representing the Frontier Conference were Capital grad Sammi Bignell (Montana Western) and Annie Kane (Lewis-Clark State) on the honorable mention list.

Cahill led Carroll in scoring (15.1 points per game) and rebounding (6.1 boards) this season. She was 33rd in the country in field-goal percentage, making 47.2 percent of her shots. In her college career, Cahill played in 100 games and finished with 934 points, 464 rebounds and 100 steals. This is her first All-American award.

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By the Amber Kuehn, Helena IR

The Carroll College women’s basketball team’s season came to an end Friday morning, but not without a fight. After a back-and-forth affair in the second round of the NAIA national tournament, No. 7 Lee University (Tenn.) got hot from 3-point range late to hold off the Saints 63-49.

The Saints (21-10) leave Frankfort, Ky., before they had hoped, but head back to Helena with the pride that comes from being one of the final 16 teams standing in the country.

“We were right there and had a chance to win the game,” Carroll coach Rachelle Sayers said. “It’s always tough ... but it doesn’t take away from what a great year we had. Twenty-one wins, sweet 16 of the national tournament.”

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BY ALAN GROSBACH

FRANKFORT, Ky. - Lee (Tenn.) advances to its the quarterfinals for the third time in team history with a 63-49 victory over Carroll (Mont.) in second round action at the 2013 NAIA Division I Women's Basketball National Championship. The Lady Flames, whose previous two quarterfinal appearances came in 2009 and 2010, will play the winner of Shawnee State (Ohio) and Oklahoma City at 2 p.m. EDT on Saturday at the Frankfort Convention Center.

Hollie German tallied her third-straight 20-point performance with a game-high 21 points on 6-of-13 shooting. She was also 7-of-8 at the free throw line. Despite picking up her fourth foul with more than 10 minutes left, Jenna Adams joined German in double figures with 12 points. Adams added a team-best three assists in the effort.
A back-and-forth first half that included two ties and seven lead changes ended with Lee taking a 24-23 lead into the locker room. The Lady Flames held their largest lead of the frame, 8-3, when Adams connected on one of Lee's two first half 3-pointers. However, Carroll fought back with a 12-0 run, capped by a pair of Baily Snelling free throws to flip the score in the Fighting Saints' favor, 15-8. Lee slowly chipped away at the deficit and eventually tied the score at 19 with 4:31 left on a Julia Zimmerman 3-pointer. The score remained within three points the rest of the half.

Lee pushed its lead out to eight points to start the second half, but failed the shake the Fighting Saints, who knotted the score, 34-34, at the 15 minute mark on a Torrie Cahill field goal. Carroll took what would become its final lead of the contest (39-36) three possessions later when Jordan Bagley converted an and-one situation.

However, a 12-0 run that included six points from German and back-to-back three pointers by Rachel Lockhart and Melanie Barker propelled Lee to a 48-39 lead with 7:30 left in the game. Carroll cut the deficit to six and ended the run with a Snelling 3-pointer, but pulled no closer as another string of Lady Flame threes gave Lee to its first double-digit lead of the game.

For the game, Lee shot 39.1 percent (18-of-46) from the field and 86.4 percent (19-of-22) at the foul line. The Lady Flames outrebounded Carroll, 36-27.

Carroll, who entered the game ranked third in the NAIA in 3-point field goal percentage (36.5 percent), shot only 2-for-13 (15.4 percent) beyond the arc en route to a 36.5 percent field goal percentage. For the second-straight game, Cahill led the Fighting Saints in scoring with 18 points. She also tallied a team-high seven rebounds.
Carroll ends its season with a 21-10 record.

By Amber Kuehn, Helena IR

Rebounding and defense paid off for the Carroll College women in a big way Wednesday, as the sixth-seeded Saints beat third-seeded The Master’s (Calif.) 73-58 in the first round of the NAIA national tournament. No. 24 Carroll advances to the round of 16 to face seventh-ranked Lee University of Tennessee (31-2) Friday morning in Frankfort, Ky. Tipoff is scheduled for 7 a.m. MDT.

“They’re ecstatic, they’re happy, but these guys are pretty businesslike,” second-year Saints coach Rachelle Sayers said of the atmosphere in the locker room. “...They definitely appreciate this opportunity to be here, and I can guarantee they’re not ready to go home.”

Carroll (21-9) took away the 10th-ranked Lady Mustangs’ strengths early and often, particularly on the perimeter. The Master’s entered the tournament as one of the best 3-point shooting teams in the country, but was limited to just 3-for-22 shooting from behind the arc Wednesday afternoon. The Saints, on the other hand, shot 50 percent from long distance, with half of their treys coming from reserve guard Jordan Pfau (4 for 4).

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By Amber Kuehn, Helena IR

The No. 24 Carroll College women’s basketball team is in Frankfort, Ky., today, where the Saints will meet 10th-ranked The Master’s College (Calif.) in a first-round national tournament game.

Tipoff is scheduled for 11:45 a.m. MDT. The Saints are seeded sixth, while the Lady Mustangs are a No. 3 seed.

Carroll had a short week of preparation since learning of its opponent last Wednesday. Saints senior guard Megan Patterson said it consisted of plenty of film study of the Lady Mustangs.

“We’re looking at some sets that other teams have had success with,” Patterson said on Sunday afternoon. “Also, we’re starting to get personnel down so we know our matchups.”

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FRANKFORT, Ky. - Carroll (Mont.) advanced to the second round for the fourth time in program history with a 73-58 win over The Master's (Calif.) in the first round of the 2013 NAIA Division I Women's Basketball National Championship at the Frankfort Convention Center on Wednesday afternoon.

Senior forward Torrie Cahill scored a game-high 26 points - one point shy of a season-best - and grabbed 10 rebounds for Carroll, which advances to play Lee (Tenn.) at 9 a.m. on Friday. Megan Patterson and Jordan Pfau each tossed in 12 points for the Fighting Saints, who ended the contest shooting 52 percent (26-of-50) from the field and 76.5 percent (13-of-17) from the free throw line.

The lead changed only once during the contest as Carroll recovered from a 10-4 game-opening run by The Master's to take the lead, 13-12, on a basket by Cahill at the 7:38 mark of the first half. Carroll extended its advantage out to as much as eight before a free throw and jumper by The Master's made it 25-18 at the half.
The Fighting Saints blew the game open in the second half, ending the period shooting 68 percent (17-of-25) from the floor, including a 6-for-9 clip from beyond the arc. The Mustangs closed the deficit to nine once in the second half, 58-49, on a Zoe Scott field goal that capped a 7-0 The Master's run. However, Carroll answered immediately to reclaim a double-digit lead and held that advantage the rest of the way.

The Master's, who went nearly two minutes without a field goal to end the game, shot 31.3 percent (21-of-67) from the field and 76.5 percent (13-of-17) from the foul line. Lena Rivera and Zoe Scott paced the squad with 13 points each, while Jacquelyn Marshall added 11 points in the effort.