HOLLAND, Mich. - In a match-up between two Top 25 teams, #21 Carroll notched a huge non-conference road victory Saturday afternoon against 12th-ranked Hope College, defeating the Dutch in overtime by a score of 80-75. That marks the second consecutive season that Carroll has defeated a team ranked in the top 12 in Division-III, while improving their record against ranked opponents to 5-4 during the last two years.

Carroll (4-1) was hot right out of the gates, shooting 67 percent (10-15) from the field in the opening quarter, while finishing the game shooting 44 percent (31-71). The Pioneers also shot 29 percent (6-21) from 3-point range and 86 percent (12-14) from the foul line, while Hope (3-2) converted just 63 percent (12-19) from the charity stripe.

In a game that featured nine ties and 22 lead changes, it was Carroll who took early control of this contest. After trading baskets on the first few possession, the Pioneers used a 15-5 run, capped by a Natalie Gricius layup to take a 10-point advantage. Hope would cut that deficit to just one point after scoring a layup in the final seconds of the period. The Dutch would grab the lead in the second quarter, but Carroll grabbed it right back on an Emilie Wizner layup. That helped the Pios build a five-point lead with three and a half minutes remaining in the half, but Hope scored the final six points of the second quarter to go into halftime leading 35-34.

Wizner connected on a 3-pointer to begin the second half, giving the Pioneers the lead once more. Neither team led by more than five in the third quarter, with Carroll taking a 52-50 lead into the fourth. Hope took their largest lead of the afternoon with just two minutes left in regulation on a Leah Richards layup to put the Dutch up by eight. In true Pioneer fashion, Carroll didn't panic, as Wizner connected on a pair of 3-pointers on consecutive possession, followed by another Hope turnover and a pair of Olivia Rangel free throws to erase that eight-point deficit and send the game to overtime.

In the extra period, the Pios fell behind by four with three minutes to play. They answered with a basket from Natalie Gricius, which cut that lead in half. After a Hope free throw pushed their lead back to three, Gricius scored the next seven points in the game to give Carroll a 77-73 lead with 19 seconds remaining. Gricius would then ice the game by sinking three of four free throws in the final 12 seconds.

Gricius led all scorers with 27 points, including scoring 12 of the team's 15 points in the overtime period. She converted 9-of-14 shots on the day, while converting 8-of-9 from the free throw line, and adding a game-high eight rebounds. Wizner finished with 24 points on 9-of-17 shooting, including 5-of-11 from 3-point range. Olivia Rangel added nine points, six rebounds, and seven assists, while Chloe Halverson also chipped in with eight points, six boards, and three assists.

Hope was led by Chloe Brunsberg's 18 points, while Richards added 14 points and a team-high six rebounds. Terin Maynard also scored 10 points for the Dutch, who shot 42 percent (28-67) from the field as a team.

Carroll will try to keep things rolling on Tuesday when they'll travel to University of Chicago. That game will begin at 7 p.m. from Ratner Athletics Center in Chicago, Ill.