LEWISTON, Idaho – It came down to the final minutes in the Activity Center on Friday night when the No. 17 Carroll College Fighting Saints drained the go-ahead 3-pointer to defeat the No. 21 Lewis-Clark State Women's Basketball team. Despite struggles on the court, LC State kept the game close for all 40 minutes before falling 54-51.

"First of all, give Carroll a lot of credit," coach Brian Orr said. "They came out and really looked like they were playing with a chip on their shoulder. They really took us out of almost everything. We didn't get any player movement, didn't get any ball movement. The ball didn't go inside hardly at all in the first half. The were just monsters on the boards."

The opening minutes of the first quarter were a defensive battle. LC got on the board first with a field goal by Abbie Johnson. Carroll answered with a 3-pointer at 7:34, and Jansen Edmiston responded 30 seconds later to put the Warriors back in front 4-3. The two battled throughout the first 10 minutes. Jamie Nielson tied things up 13-13 in the final minute, but a buzzer-beating 3 by Carroll had them at a 16-13 advantage after the first frame.

Carroll opened the second quarter with a run to stretch its lead to nine points (24-15) by 6:05 and headed into the locker room ahead by seven (31-24).

The Warriors made up some ground in the second half. Nielson made good on a pair of free throws at 3:30 to spark a seven-point rally that had LC State trailing by two (39-37) heading into the final 10 minutes.

LC State took its first lead since the first quarter on a 3-pointer from Hannah Burland at 3:36. Foul shots by Edmiston and Peyton Souvenir kept the advantage at a few points, but a pair of 3s by the Saints sunk the Warriors by a final of 54-51.

"We played a lot better in the second half," Orr said. "The first half we let people get wide open and easy transitions. We weren't rotating quick enough with our defense. The second half we did a much better job. We got some stops. We just weren't ready to play in the first half."

Kiara Burlage and Edmiston led the Warriors with 13 points each, and Burlage grabbed six boards. Johnson added 10 points and Souvenir dished out five assists.

Christine Denny led the Saints and the game with 20 points. Taylor Salonen dropped 10 points while Denny, Danielle Wagner and Emerald Toth each grabbed six rebounds.

The Warriors committed just six fouls, and found success at the free throw line going 14-for-17.

LC State hosts Montana Tech on Saturday at 5:30 p.m. in the Activity Center.