Keller hitting on all cylinders for MSU-Northern

Montana State University-Northern senior Taylor Keller has been the Skylights' points guard for what seems like a decade. And while it really hasn't been that long, Keller has been the engine which drives the Skylights up and down the floor for the last three-plus years.

But five games into the start of her final season at Northern, Keller isn't just running the Northern offense, distributing the ball or playing her usual hard-nosed defense, she's scoring at a higher rate than she has since she was ripping the nets at Custer High School five years ago.

Keller came into this weekend's home split with Dickinson State and Minot State averaging almost 23 points per game, and she came out of the two games with a 20 point per game average, which is tops in the Frontier Conference so far this season. Keller's career average has hovered around 13 points per contest through her first three years, and while she's always been an outstanding shooter, she sees other reasons why her scoring numbers are up this season, and most of it is giving credit to her teammates. And that's the sign of a true leader, and a true point guard.

"The biggest reason I'm scoring more is because we have so many scorers on our team this year," Keller said after scoring 13 points against DSU on Friday and another 16 against Minot on Saturday. "We have so many good shooters on this team and everyone is capable of scoring, of shooting inside and out, and that's making it hard for team's to focus on one person. With so many good scorers on our team, I guess it's drawing attention away from me a little bit right now. So I have to give them (my teammates) the credit for that."

But Keller isn't just hitting the outside shot like she has done for so long, she's also using her speed and her toughness to get to the basket — something MSU-N fans have grown accustomed to over the years, but this year more so than ever. Keller has always been good going to the basket and being such a good free-throw shooter has made her even tougher to defend off the dribble. But this weekend, she really showed that down the stretch against Dickinson, a team she's had a knack for beating over the years.

With the game on the line Friday afternoon, Keller drove to the basket on four straight trips, making two layups and drawing a foul on another, helping the Skylights to a nine-point win. She also beat the Blue Hawks on a last-second shot last fall in Havre, but her drives to the hole gave Northern the push it needed on Friday against a good DSU team.

"I'm driving to the basket more, and I'm driving a lot harder to the basket this year," Keller said. "But also, a big reason for that is the attention my teammates get from a team's defense. We have so many good players for teams to guard, I've been able to find some plays that work and allow me to get to the basket. And that's something that's made a big difference this year."

A big difference indeed. As the top backcourt in the Frontier, Keller and fellow senior Samm Schermele go into this weekend's road trip combining to score 37 points per game. Schermele is averaging 17 points per game, just behind Keller's 20.

MSU-N has rematches with DSU and Minot Friday and Saturday on the road. The Skylights next play at home Dec. 16 against UGF.

Skylights 59, Dickinson State 50

DSU — Amber Adams 2-4 0-2 4, Mandy Mullock 5-8 1-1 12, Kelsey Boedeker 1-5 0-0 2, Kylee Bittner 2-7 0-0 5, Kersten Jaramillo 1-1 0-0 2, Teryl Norton 3-7 0-0 8, Samantha Botsford 0-0 0-0 0, Amanda Jenson 2-7 0-0 6, Terri Washington 4-9 1-3 9, Devan Koch 1-3 0-0 2. Totals 21-51 2-6 50.

MSU — Laramie Schwenke 2-4 4-6 8, Taylor Keller 4-9 5-5 13, Kylee Denham 0-0 0-0 0, Samm Schermele 3-10 3-4 9, Valerie Gee 1-1 0-0 2, Jordan Bruursema 2-3 6-6 10, Nicole Wilk 1-1 0-0 2, Courtney Blume 1-3 1-2 3, Monica Hollowell 3-7 0-0 8, Stren Tramelli 1-1 2-2 4. Totals 18-39 21-25 59.

Minot State 69, Skylights 66

MSU — Christina Boag 0-0 0-1 0, Katie Hardy 2-3 1-4 5, Carly Boag 5-8 3-3 13, Caroline Folven 6-9 2-2 14, Katie Randall 2-3 0-1 4, Kelly Pankratz 0-1 2-2 2, Kallie Erickson 3-5 0-0 9, Dora Garza 2-5 4-4 9, Sacarra Molina 4-6 4-3 13, Lauren Safranski 0-1 0-0 0. Totals 24-41 16-20 69.

MSU-N — Laramie Schwenke 2-6 0-0 4, Taylor Keller 5-14 2-2 16, Kylee Denham 0-1 0-0 0, Samm Schermele 6-11 6-7 20, Valerie Gee 0-1 0-0 0, Jordan Bruursema 2-6 0-0 4, Nicole Wilk 2-4 0-0 5, Courtney Blume 1-2 0-0 2, Monica Hollowell 5-8 1-1 13, Stren Tramelli 1-3 0-1 2. Totals 24-56 9-11 66.