In a game that had two huge swings, Carroll College delivered the knockout blow to drop UM-Western 71-57.

The win moves the Fighting Saints to 3-1 in the Frontier Conference and 15-2 overall, while UM-W falls to 1-2 and 12-5.

"We played well for 12 minutes and obviously we want to play well for 40, but we'll take them any way we can get them," Carroll coach Shawn Nelson said. "I was really happy with the last seven minutes of the game."

UM-W was in control for most of the contest after rattling off 15 unanswered points to take a 25-18 lead with 8:41 to play in the first half.

"We got up eight, they took a timeout and we just relaxed," Nelson said. "(The Bulldogs) got their head up and played well for the final 15 minutes of the first half and the first 10 of the second."

Carroll went 0-for-6 and committed four turnovers during the 15-0 run.

The Bulldogs still led 54-45 with 9:50 to go when Carroll came out of nowhere to seize the game. The Saints outscored UM-W 26-3 from that point.

"We were having one of those nights where things just weren't going well, but all it takes is one person to hit one and it snowballs from there," Carroll coach Shawn Nelson said. "We made a layup and a three and all of sudden we were relaxed."

Jolene Fuzesy played as big a role as anyone during the Carroll run after seeming non-existant for the first 28 minutes.

She scored all 15 of her points in the final 12 minutes, including a dramatic four-point play to give the Saints their first lead since 11:51 of the first half.

"Obviously she's a phenomenal shooter," UM-W coach Kevin Engellant said of Fuzesy. "She's hard to hold down, but we did a great job finding her in the zone for 30 minutes. She got free on the base line and then hit that three-and-one in transition."

The Saints scored seven points in one minute as Hannah Heidenreich, Danielle Maloney and Nikki Mills all hit shots to draw within two. Carroll came up with a loose ball under the UM-W basket and Caitlin Courchaine found Fuzesy on the wing. She drilled the shot while being fouled by Jenna Rucker and was sent sprawling.

Her free throw gave Carroll a 54-52 lead they wouldn't relinquish.

Maloney followed that with a three-point play to give the Saints 14 points in less than two minutes.

"We gotta find a way to have more composure," Engellant added. "We got some good shots, but didn't finish. We had 17 turnovers in the second half and you can't give a team like Carroll that."

Chloe Mosey led the Bulldogs with 14 points, but was held scoreless over the final 19:19 of the game. Jamie Lake chipped in 13.

Courchaine was key for Carroll as she scored 14 points and had five steals to go along with three assists. She went 4-for-5 from 3-point land.

Carroll goes back on the road next week to play Rocky Mountain College, but that is its only game of the week.

UM-Western (12-5, 1-2) - Laura Shea 3-6 0-1 6, Heather Brooks 2-3 1-2 6, Jill Dana 3-10 0-0 8, Chloe Mosey 7-13 0-0 14, Jamie Lake 6-12 1-2 13, Genna Rucker 2-6 2-2 8, Amanda Lidstrom 0-3 2-2 2. Totals: 23-53 6-9 57.

Carroll College (15-2, 3-1) - Hannah Heidenreich 4-7 1-1 9, Tiffany Rochelle 3-9 0-1 6, Laci High 1-5 0-0 3, Caitlin Courchaine 5-8 0-0 14, Jolene Fuzesy 4-11 5-5 15, Elly Bruursema 2-9 3-3 7, Nikki Mills 2-4 5-6 9, Danielle Maloney 2-7 1-1 6, Nicole Leiback 0-1 0-0 0, Sara Meyer 1-1 0-0 2. Totals: 24-62 15-17 71.

Halftime - UM-W 37, CC 32. Three point field goals - UM-W 5-10 (Dana 2-3, Rucker 2-4, Brooks 1-1, Shea 0-1, Lake 0-1), CC 8-27 (Courchaine 4-5, Fuzesy 2-8, High 1-4, Maloney 1-5, Bruursema 0-5). Rebounds - UM-W 34 (Mosey 11, Lidstrom 10), CC 28 (Rochelle 9, Heidenreich 5, Mills 5). Assists - UM-W 9 (Shea 3), CC 10 (Courchaine 3, Fuzesy 3). Fouls - UM-W 18, CC 13. Fouled out - Shea.

Reporter Tom Stuber: 447-4070 or irsports@helenair.com