Carroll, Providence win in Round of 16

SIOUX FALLS, Iowa — Fighting off foul trouble, Carroll College’s Jamie Pickens converted a layup off a pass from Maddie Geritz with 55 seconds left in overtime, helping the Saints beat Loyola, La. 58-55 at the NAIA women’s basketball Round of 16.

The Saints advanced to Saturday’s quarterfinals. They’ll play Dakota State (S.D.) at 2 p.m., and were joined in the quarterfinals by Providence, which beat Concordia, Neb. 73-66 Thursday.

Loyola forced overtime on Taylor Thomas’ three-point play with 2:52 left in regulation. Neither team scored again until the extra period, where Loyola took leads of 53-51 and 55-53. 

Each time Pickens scored to tie the game up, before hitting her game-winner. Loyola’s next two possessions ended in a miss and a turnover, and Pickens hit one free throw with two seconds left. Limited to 20 minutes by foul trouble, Pickens finished with 11 points and five rebounds.

Kyndall Keller had 16 points and 11 boards to lead the Saints. Geritz had 10 points and 14 rebounds.

Providence 73, Concordia, Neb. 66

Taliah Lee came off the bench to score 13 points for Providence, which pulled away with a 24-point fourth quarter.

Keanna Salave’a took over the final quarter for the Argonauts, scoring five points and hauling down six rebounds. She finished with 10 points and 15 boards.

Kolby Pimperton had a team-high 14 points, followed by Ashlee Maldonado with 12. Maddy Dixon had 10 points and seven rebounds.

Providence will play Marian, Ind. at noon Saturday.