Frontier Notebook: Things back to normal in Helena

It seemed like just when winter finally and truly arrived in Montana, so too did Frontier Conference basketball. And the first week of league play was certainly as stormy as the weather.

There were shocking upsets, controversial calls and stellar individual performances to highlight the first week of Frontier action, and, that's only the beginning.

And things started with a bang as the Westminster women saw a nearly two-year home winning streak come crashing down on the Frontier's opening night as then No. 24 Carroll College knocked off the Griffins 55-50 last Thursday night in Salt Lake City.

Carroll was one of two teams to go unbeaten on the opening weekend, and the Fighting Saints, who were picked to finish just fifth in the Frontier this season, are red-hot right now. Carroll has won five straight going back to early December. The other team to sweep on the Frontier's opening weekend is of course, the Montana State University-Northern Skylights. Northern's 63-61 over LC State last Saturday night vaulted the Skylights all the way to No. 11 in the new NAIA Coaches Poll, and it sets up a huge showdown with the Fighting Saints tonight in Helena.

On the men's side, two perennial Frontier powers suffered back-to-back losses on opening weekend. Rocky Mountain College, which was ranked No. 18, lost at both Westminster and UM-Western last weekend, while the MSU-Northern Lights were swept at home by Montana Tech. It was no surprise that Western went undefeated at home this past weekend, but it was certainly a stunner that the Orediggers swept Northern and Great Falls on the road.

Good times are back in Helena

The past few seasons have been unusual as it pertains to Carroll College basketball. The Carroll men's team has endured two straight losing seasons, and from 2012-2014, the Saints won just four Frontier Conference games. While the Carroll women didn't suffer as much, the Saints weren't a real factor in the Frontier standings last season and were knocked out of the Frontier playoffs by Northern in the first round.

But this winter, things look to be back to normal in Helena. The Carroll men are off to a terrific start in head coach Carson Cunningham's second season at the helm. They knocked off Westminster in a thriller last Thursday in Salt Lake City, then played UM-Western tough in Dillon last Saturday night.

Carroll's resurgence is obviously due to the arrival of Cunningham, a former Big 10 All-Conference performer at Purdue. And Cunningham's aggressiveness in scheduling might be a big reason why Carroll, which was picked to finish last in the Frontier this season, is looking more and more like a conference title contender already. The Saints played a tough non-conference schedule, almost all away from home, and while four of their games didn't count, they might be the biggest reason why Carroll is already so battle-tested. The Saints played exhibition games this season against NCAA Division I teams, Purdue, South Alabama, the University of Montana and Utah University. Of course, Carroll lost all four games, but there's no denying that those games certainly made the Saints more than ready for what they're up against now.

The Carroll women didn't face that many NCAA DI squads in the non-conference season, but it hasn't seemed to matter. The Saints have won five straight games and are playing like a team that is more than capable of winning the Frontier championships, something Carroll hasn't had a piece of in seven years.

And shooting is the name of the game for the Carroll women. The Saints only shoot 38 percent from the 3-point line, but they average seven made threes per game, which is No. 8 in the NAIA. They have made 114 threes on the season which is tops in the Frontier. Add that to having the No. 6 scoring defense in the country, and the Saints have become awfully tough to beat, and are making the league's coaches look like they got it wrong when they picked Carroll to finish fifth in the Frontier this season.

Transfer Impact

Some of the top players on the men's and women's side of the Frontier Conference weren't here a year ago. A prime example of that is Northern senior Trevail Lee, who scored a game-high 32 points in Northern's heartbreaking loss to LC State last Saturday night. Lee came to Northern from a community college in Memphis, Tennessee, this past fall.

And all over the league, newcomers are having an instant impact on the conference.

In Last Saturday's game in Havre, LCSC started three transfers in former University of Montana players Jake Wiley and Nick Emerson, as well as Erik Diouf. Transfer Dexter Williams Jr., has certainly given UM-Western a big lift this season, as has several key players at Westminster.

On the women's side, transfer Whitney Mitchell has instantly made Rocky a much better team, as she is in the top five in the Frontier in scoring. Add in newcomers at Westminster and Carroll, and transfers are making a strong statement all over the Frontier.

Numbers Watch

The Frontier Conference might only be a week old, but teams have now been playing for nearly four months. And that means, players are putting up numbers all over the league.

Going into the second week of league play, UGF's Erin Legel is leading the Frontier in scoring at 20 points per game. Northern's A'Jha Edwards, who's third in scoring at 16 points per night, leads the Frontier in rebounding at 12 per outing. Westminster's Amy Kormmenhoek is tops in the conference in assists at six per game.

On the men's side, Carroll College sophomore Zach Taylor is tops in scoring at 18 points per game. Trevail Lee leads the Lights at 13 points per game, which is 15th in the Frontier. UGF newcomer Sigmond Farmer III leads the league in rebounding at eight per game, while fellow Argo T.J. Harris is first in assists at four per outing.