Skylights win in Canada

Over the course of their first four games, there weren't many trying moments for the Montana State University-Northern women's basketball team. But Saturday afternoon in Lethbridge, Alberta, there were plenty.

One day after dispatching Mount Royal University, The Skylights found themselves in a battle with the Lethbridge Pronghorns. And Northern's veteran team responded by grinding out a 69-60 victory to finish off their second road sweep in Canada in the first three weeks of the season.

"We gutted that game out," Northern head coach Chris Mouat said. "I was very proud of our kids. It was the first time we had really faced any adversity, and had to overcome adversity. So I was very proud of the way our kids responded to it."

Northern played a solid first half, and led 31-18 at the break. But the talented Pronghorns continued to fight for the final 20 minutes. Several times, Lethbridge cut MSU-N's lead down to two points, but the Skylights never backed down. Strong defense and timely free-throw shooting helped MSU-N stay in front the entire way.

"We never did relinquish the lead," Mouat said. "But they (Pronghorns) cut it down to two on several occasions, and late in the game too. They played really well, and they weren't going to go away. But our kids stepped up and played really well down the stretch. We got some big free throws, we got really big contributions from our bench. It was a really good win for us."

A'Jha Edwards paced the Skylights with 19 points and eight rebounds. Fellow senior Taylor Cummings scored 12 points, while freshman Jacy Thompson hit all three of the Skylights' 3-pointers on her way to 11 points.

Friday's opener in Lethbridge wasn't the dogfight that Saturday's game was as Northern cruised to an 80-45 win over Mount Royal, another CIS team.

MSU-N's defense asserted itself from the outset, holding Mount Royal to just 12 points in the first half. The Skylights led 34-12 at intermission and were never really threatened the rest of the way.

In the win, Natalee Faupel poured in 16 points, while Thompson buried three treys and scored 13. Megan Feldman also gave the Skylights 13 points, while Edwards added 12, and freshman Makhayla Farmer came off the bench to score 12 as well.

"We held a good team to just 12 points in the first half and got ourselves going offensively late in the half to open up a nice lead," Mouat said. "We allowed too many easy baskets in the second half, but our kids played extremely hard throughout the game. We shared the ball very well and did some very good things. Overall, I am very pleased with where we are at. Ten kids played good minutes and all contributed."

The Skylights will have a week off before returning to action with games in Phoenix, Arizona Nov. 7-8.

Skylights 80, Mount Royal 45

MSU-N - Jacy Thompson 4-8 2-2 13, Natalee Faupel 5-11 6-6 16, Brandy Lambourne 0-4 0-0 0, Taylor Cummings 1-4 3-4 5, Megan Feldman 5-5 3-4 13, Taryn Norby 0-3 3-3 3, Molly Kreycik 1-3 0-0 2, A'Jha Edwards 6-10 0-1 12, Makhayla Farmer 4-5 4-8 12, Taybra Teeters 2-5 0-0 4. Totals: 28-58 21-28.

Halftime: Northern 34-12. 3-pointers 3-14 (Thompson 3). Rebounds 39 (Edwards 7). Fouls 13. Fouled out: None.

Skylights 69, Lethbridge 60

MSU-N - Jacy Thompson 3-10 3-4 11, Natalee Faupel 2-11 4-6 9, Taylor Cummings 4-8 2-2 12, Megan Feldman 1-4 1-2 3, A'Jha Edwards 9-13 1-2 19, Brandy Lambourne 2-4 0-0 4, Taryn Norby 0-1 0-0 0, Molly Kreycik 0-3 4-4 4, Makhayla Farmer 1-2 1-2 3, Taybra Teeters 2-3 0-0 4. Totals: 24-59 16-22.

Halftime: Northern 31-18. 3-pointers 5-15 (Thompson 2, Faupel 1, Cummings 2). Rebounds: 31 (Edwards 8, Faupel 8). Fouls 14. Fouled out: Feldman.