Big road games await Skylights

The Montana State University-Northern Skylights and the University of Great Falls Argos find themselves in a unique position tonight in Great Falls. It’s not often that teams, let alone bitter rivals, have to two Frontier Conference games against each other inside of six days. But that’s the case for MSU-N and UGF.

Tonight, the No. 17 Skylights (6-2, 16-4) meet the Argos (2-6, 12-9) at 5:30 in the McLaughlin Center in Great Falls. The game comes just six days after Northern beat UGF 71-61 in Havre, and it comes just two days before Northern’s highly anticipated showdown with nationally ranked Lewis-Clark State Saturday night in Lewiston, Idaho.

While the Skylights face a rigid two-game road stretch, head coach Chris Mouat’s focus is solely on the rematch with the Argos.

“The schedule this year is unusual, but everybody has a week or two like this one, and we knew it was coming ...,” Mouat said. “There won’t be many surprises because we just played each other six days ago. And because of that, I expect both teams will be very well prepared. I know we will be prepared because we saw first-hand just how explosive UGF can be.”

The Argos did put up 61 points on Northern’s NAIA-leading defense last Friday night in Havre. But MSU-N’s offense was up to the task. A’Jha Edwards dominated the Argos with 23 points and 15 rebounds, while MSU-N shot a sizzling 66 percent in the second half and Taylor Cummings, Natalee Faupel and Rachelle Bennett joined Edwards in double figures.

MSU-N also shut down star Argos Erin Legel and Lindsay Abramson. Together, the duo averages 37 points per game, but MSU-N held them to a combined 20 points on Friday. Still, UGF put points on the board, and guards Taylor Statten, Darah Huertas-Vining and Nneka Nnadi proved they too have to be dealt with and that UGF isn’t just a two-person show.

“It will be a big challenge playing them (Argos) again,” Mouat said. “They are very, very good. They are so very explosive, and as we saw last Friday, they have a lot of good players, not just two. And when they get going, they are a handful.”

The Argos will be out for some revenge tonight too. Following last Friday’s loss to Northern, UGF returned home only to get spanked by UM-Western, and now head coach Bill Himmelberg’s team has fallen well behind in the Frontier standings. The fact that the Argos have also lost six straight to Northern will play into what figures to be an emotional night in Great Falls.

Still, the Skylights’ defense is playing at a level unlike any other team in the league, and Mouat says his team has come a long way in many other areas this season.

“Our depth has been big for us,” Mouat said. “Having a deeper team has really gone a long way for us. And I really like this team’s attitude. They work hard, they are fun and easy to coach, and they are very focused. They have a lot of unity and they play well together, and that’s going to be big for us, with these two tough games this weekend, and during this tough final stretch of the season.”

Northern does play two difficult games this weekend. The latter is Saturday night’s battle with No. 14 LC State (7-1, 20-2).

A year ago, the Warriors limped to their first losing season in nearly two decades and were swept by the Skylights. But LCSC has quickly turned things around and is once again an NAIA power. The Warriors are unbeaten at home this season, and are coming off their first Frontier loss, a 70-68 setback at No. 4 Westminster last Saturday night in Salt Lake City.

“They (Warriors) are really good, they are young, but they have very good young players who are contributing,” Mouat said. “Having Brittaney (Niebergall) back has been big for them. When she’s healthy, she’s one of the best players in our league. So they look to be back to full strength and they are playing really well right now.”

Niebergall, a two-time All-Conference performer, missed most of last season with injuries, so it’s no coincidence that LCSC is right back to being good with her back in the lineup. But she also has talent around her, including junior Tanis Fuller, who averages a team-best 15 points per night, as well as freshman Caelyn Orlandi, who chips in with 12 points, and Loree Hill, who adds nine per game.

“They are a very high-pressure team,” Mouat said of the Warriors. “They shoot a lot of threes and they’re shooting it really well. They have good size collectively, and they have a lot of kids who can knock down shots. They seem to be a pretty complete team. And they always play very well at home.”

As well as both UGF and LCSC have played at home this season, Northern counters as one of the best road teams in the Frontier. The Skylights have lost just one road game all season, and will look to keep that trend going tonight in Great Falls and Saturday night in Idaho.

“These are big games,” Mouat said. “Both teams will present tough challenges for us. We’re into that time of year where every game is big, and these ones are going to be very difficult. But I think our kids are well prepared and ready to go on the road and play well.”

Tonight’s rematch between Northern and UGF tips off at 5:30 in Great Falls. MSU-N’s trip to Lewis-Clark State will tip at 6:30 p.m. M.S.T. Saturday night in Lewiston, Idaho. The Skylights are back home to host Montana Tech next Friday and LCSC Saturday.