Box Score HELENA, Mont. – The school record was in sight. The LCSC women's basketball team was mowing down the competition this year, looking strong game in and game out. Winning the close conference games when things could go the opposite way.
 
But Friday night's game seemed like an unwelcomed nightmare.  
 
The Warriors fell for the first time all season, ending their 23-game win streak at the hands of Carroll College, 64-57, three wins shy of tying the school record from the 1999-00 season.
 
"I feel like I let us down," Head Coach Brian Orr said softly. "I was sick and I didn't get here until 2 p.m. just before the game. But we need to build on the loss, use it as a learning experience. We've been in some tough games and were able to pull out some wins, but couldn't pull this one off."

The Warriors converted more turnovers than they had assists for the first time all year as the Fighting Saints caused some issues for LCSC on offense.
Both teams made their first shots of the game. Megan Risinger tied the game up at 2-2 36 seconds into the game. Carroll was able to extend their lead late in the first. Hannah Dean scored her eighth point of the quarter, giving Carroll a 13-8 lead with four to play. Lauren Johnson made a shot with time winding down, tying the game after the opening 10 minutes of play.

LCSC grabbed their first lead in the second with a layup from Caelyn Orlandi with 5:29 remaining in the half. She sparked a small run for the Warriors as she later hit a 3-pointer before Natahnee Spencer's trey that gave them a 29-23 lead. The Warriors led by as much as eight in the half and led the half by five.

"We got off to a slow start but I was pleased with first half performance," Coach Orr said.

The Warriors shot 54 percent from the field and held Carroll to 40 percent. LCSC looked to keep the momentum in the second half but the Fighting Saint had other plans.
Carroll quickly erased their halftime deficit and retook the lead at the 3:15 mark in the third. A 3-pointer in their last possession of the quarter saw the Warriors trailing by four heading into the final quarter.

The Fighting Saints opened up on an 8-2 run extending their lead to 10 as the threat became more real to the Warriors. Buckets by Brittany Tackett and Brooke Litalien traded buckets, cutting the deficit down to four with 2:47 to play. But that was the closest LC would get as Carroll held on for the upset win.
 
"Carrol played extremely well and defend us well." Coach Orr said. "They made shots. Biggest difference was our post defense. We had little resistance for them getting the ball inside. And when they did, they scored."

Orlandi led the team with 16 points. She also dished out five assists and grabbed three rebounds. Tackett was next with 14 points and six boards.

The loss drops the Warriors to 23-1 and 11-1 in conference. Carroll improves to 16-6 overall and 6-6 in the Frontier.

With the streak over, Coach Orr believes the team can now focus on things to improve on for the rest of the season.

"The steak is over, no more talking about it." Coach Orr said. "We can focus on now what we need to do better for the team. We will get better."

LC will look to get back in the win column tomorrow as they take on Montana Tech at 4:30 p.m. local time.