(Editor’s note: Carroll College athletics release)
CHANDLER, Ariz. — Carroll College saved its best for last.
Four Saints (10-3) set or tied career highs and No. 8 CC dominated No. 12 Our Lady of the Lake 76-55 on Friday during the final day of the Phoenix Frontier Classic.
Sophomore Christine Denny set a career high in points scored, navigating her way through traffic to score a game-high 22 points on 9-of-12 shooting. Redshirt sophomore Dani Wagner pulled down a career high 11 rebounds, sophomore point guard Jaidyn Lyman dished out a career-high eight assists and senior Brittney Johnson tied a career-high in three pointers made with seven.
Carroll busted OLLU’s press defense early on with a hot shooting stroke, led by Johnson. Carroll surged to a 27-8 lead after the first quarter. After two periods, Carroll led 39-14.
OLLU, with all of its athleticism, couldn’t solve the Saints.
The warmer temperatures in Arizona didn’t translate into hot shooting percentages for the Saints — until Friday.
The Saints shot under 40 percent in their opening two games before bursting through their slump to shoot 48 percent from the field and 42 percent from the three-point line on Friday.
Only one member of OLLU posted double-digits in scoring, as Patience Okpe had 11 points. Carroll held OLLU to 29 percent from the field and 22 percent from the arc.
Eleven Saints played against OLLU and eight scored.
Carroll went 2-1 at the tournament, defeating the University of Science and Arts on Wednesday before losing to No. 14 Menlo on Thursday and then rebounding for a resounding finale on Friday.
Carroll helped the Frontier Conference represent itself well at the tournament. 14 games, with one to play late Friday, Frontier teams combined for a 10-4 record.
The Saints take on Montana Tech in the PE Center on Dec. 29.
