You can keep Jolene Fuzesy down for only so long. The Rocky Mountain Lady Bears couldn’t keep her down long enough.

Fuzesy unleashed a 21-point second-half flurry, including the final go-ahead 3-pointer with just two minutes left, to help lead the 12th-ranked Carroll College Saints to a 72-65 Frontier Conference win over the Lady Bears Friday night at the Fortin Center.

Held to just three points in the first half by Rocky’s pressure man-to-man defense, Fuzesy, a 5-foot-10 senior guard, hit 5 of 7 shots and 8 of 8 free throws in the second half. She finished with a game-high 24 points and combined with sophomore Ellie Bruursema to go 6-for-6 from the free throw line in the final 43 seconds to seal the hard-fought victory.

Moments after Gretchen Wall nailed a 3-pointer for a 61-59 Rocky lead with 2:19 remaining, Fuzesy dribbled out of a trap on the wing and when given just a sliver of an opening, drilled her third 3-pointer of the night for a 62-61 lead. Carroll (4-1 Frontier, 16-2 overall) never trailed again.

“Jolene Fuzesy hit some shots down the stretch that were absolutely huge,” Rocky coach Brian Henderson said. “She showed what that scholarship is for. She doesn’t need much time, she doesn’t need much room.”

“Rocky played just great defensively and I felt we played great defensively, too,” Carroll coach Shawn Nelson said. “It was one of those games where you felt it was just going to go down to the wire and whoever could make some shots at the end was going to win.”

Bruursema, a former standout from Reed Point, came off the bench and finished with 17 points on 7-of-9 shooting. Her nine first-half points were instrumental in the Saints’ ability to overcome seven Rocky steals, three of which led to layups and seven points for the Lady Bears. Sara Meyer also had seven first-half points off the bench for the Lady Saints.

“We knew Rocky was good because they should have beat the No. 1 team in the country,” Bruursema said, referring to the Lady Bears’ one-point loss to Union (Tenn.) on Nov. 30. “We just came out a little flat tonight … but they played well. Rocky’s a good team. We’ve got to watch out for them next time.”

“We’re not really in to moral victories, but our focus all year long has been to improve every day,” Henderson said. “I thought we maybe improved today and got a little bit better even though we didn’t come out on top.”

Carroll 72, Rocky Mountain 65

Carroll College (16-2 4-1) — Hannah Heindenreich 5-7 1-3 11, Tiffany Rochelle 1-2 0-0 2, Laci High 1-2 0-0 2, Caitlin Courchaine 2-6 2-2 6, Jolene Fuzesy 6-13 9-10 24, Elly Bruursema 7-9 2-2 17, Nikki Mills 0-1 0-0 0, Danielle Maloney 0-3 1-2 1, Nicole Leibach 0-0 0-0 0, Sara Meyer 4-7 1-2 9. Totals: 26-50 16-21 72. 3-point FG: 4-9 (Fuzesy 3-6, Bruursema 1-1, Maloney 0-2). Rebounds: 34 (Heidenreich 10). Assists: 7 (three with 2). Blocks: 2 (Rochelle, Fuzesy). Steals: 2 (Maloney, Leibach). Fouls: 16. Turnovers: 21.

Rocky Mountain College (9-12 2-3) — Gretchen Wall 3-5 0-0 8, Jenna Sawyer 7-14 4-8 18, Sarah Madinger 5-17 2-2 12, Keri Siewert 1-6 0-0 2, Liz Lewis 4-8 0-0 9, Lisa Schoer 0-1 0-0 0, Josie Evans 2-4 0-0 4, Emmelie Lundgren 6-10 0-0 12. Totals: 28-65 6-10 65. 3-point FG: 3-14 (Wall 2-3, Madinger 0-2, Siewert 0-5, Lewis 1-4). Rebounds: 20 (Wall 5). Assists: 15 (Madinger 8). Blocks: 3 (three with 1). Steals: 8 (Lewis 3). Fouls: 20. Turnovers: 9.