Frontier Conference Notebook: Skylights move up in NAIA Poll

Big games seem to be becoming old hat for the Montana State University-Northern women’s basketball team. But that’s what happens when you play in a league like the Frontier Conference. And that’s what happens when you’re 19-1 and ranked inside the NAIA Top 10.

In other words, that’s what happens when you’re as good as the Skylights are.

And for the third week in a row, Northern will play a monumental Frontier Conference game — one that will have lasting effects on the Frontier standings and the postseason.

Saturday night, the No. 10 Skylights will host the No. 4 Westminster Griffins, in what will surely be the NAIA Game of the Week and, for certain, be the Frontier Conference game of the year thus far.

And the Skylights, who have already knocked off two Top 25 Frontier rivals this season, should be beaming with confidence coming into this weekend’s home stand, which starts with the UM-Western Bulldogs Friday night.

Northern, which will by no means overlook Western, is playing as well as anyone in the country right now, and that includes the Griffins, who have won the last six Frontier regular season titles. And the numbers tell the tale.

MSU-N currently ranks first in the NAIA seven statistical categories, and the Skylights are second in two more. Northern is tops in the nation in total assist (372), assists per game (19), total defensive rebounding (27), assist to turnover ratio (1.512) and team field goal percentage (48 percent). The Skylights are also second in the NAIA in scoring margin (30.4 ppg) and second in field goal defense (32 percent). The Skylights also rank in the Top 20 in the NAIA five more categories.

Of course, the biggest stat the Skylights lead the nation in is scoring defense. The Skylights are allowing just 47 points per game, and they are putting the clamps on some really good offensive teams. And playing that kind of defense gives MSU-N the confidence it needs to know it can compete with anybody, not only in the Frontier, but in the country.

“Obviously, A’Jha (Edwards) brings so much to the table for us, and we know that,” said MSU-N head coach Chris Mouat. “Her numbers don’t lie. But I do think we’re a more well-rounded team now than maybe we have been in year’s past. There’s good balance to this team, and I think we showed that at Rocky with the way Taybra Teeters stepped up.

“We’ve got weapons,” he continued. “We have starters who are executing at both ends, we have bench players who are always ready to step up when we ask them too, and most of all, I think this team feels pretty confident right now. They are very focused and very confident in themselves and each other.”

And that confidence should come in handy in Saturday night’s game against the Griffins. Westminster is really good, and has earned every accolade it gets. But the Griffins are beatable, and the time for Northern to score one of its biggest wins in recent in history inside the Armory Gymnasium is right.

History in the polls

While the Skylights moved up one spot in the new NAIA Coaches Poll, and the Griffins held steady at No. 4, it was a big week for the Frontier, as now five teams are ranked in the women’s poll.

For the first time in school history, the University of Great Falls Argos are in the Top 25. UGF comes in this week at No. 22 after receiving votes the last few weeks. UGF’s move into the Top 25 gives the Frontier even more clout and will make a big difference in seeding come tournament time. Lewis-Clark State moved up one spot to No. 13, while Carroll College fell two spots to No. 21.

UGF’s men also moved into the Top 25 for the first time this season. In the new NAIA Men’s Coaches Poll, the Argos come in at No. 19, marking a special week for UGF basketball. UM-Western remained No. 9, with no other Frontier teams in the Top 25. Montana Tech and LC State received votes in this week’s poll.

Rivals lead

The Western Bulldogs and Montana Tech Orediggers don’t like each other much. But in recent years, their bitter basketball rivalry hasn’t had a lot at stake, especially because Tech has struggled to keep pace in the Frontier.

Now, however, things could really be heating up. Both the Bulldogs and Orediggers come into this weekend at 3-0 in the Frontier, and tied for first place in the league standings. And both teams are at least a bit of a surprise.

Western was picked to finish fifth in the Frontier this season, and Tech seventh. But both squads are red-hot right now, and on a collision course toward each other.

Western will bring a 13-game winning streak into Friday night’s clash with MSU-Northern in Havre, a streak the 0-4 Lights would love to snap. The Bulldogs’ last loss was against Augsburg back on Nov. 29, and that loss was part of a three-game losing skid. Now however, behind the stellar play of Dexter Williams Jr., who averages 14 points, seven rebounds and two steals per game, the Bulldogs can barely remember what a loss feels like, and they’re playing as well as anybody in the NAIA.

Tech meanwhile, has won eight straight games. The Orediggers’ last loss was a Nov. 28 setback to then No. 1 Cal-State San Marcos. Tech lost that game by just 11 points in Las Vegas, and like Western, it was part of a three-game losing streak which seemed to have woken the Diggers up. Tech, which gets 17 points and seven rebounds per game from senior Adam Greger, did lose an exhibition game against Montana last week, but the Orediggers are playing some great basketball to start the conference season.

And because of that, the Orediggers’ rivalry with the Bulldogs could take on an intense tone this season. While Western has its Northern/UGF road swing this weekend, Tech is home to host Rocky Mountain College and Carroll. And no matter what happens this weekend, Tech and Western have eyes on each other right now, and their first showdown comes Jan. 31 when they square off in Dillon.

And while nobody would have predicted it at the beginning of the season, the Frontier championship could already be hanging in the balance when the two bitter rivals meet next Saturday night.

Playoff watch

We’re still a week away from the halfway point of the 2015 Frontier season. But make no mistake, every team in the league is looking to secure a playoff berth. The Frontier takes only the top six teams in the men’s and women’s playoffs, which means, things are going to be difficult for teams like the MSU-Northern Lights.

Northern, which has played well, but hasn’t been able to find a league victory yet, is on the outside looking in at the postseason at this point. If the season ended today, Western, Tech, UGF, Carroll and Westminster would be in, and Northern and Rocky would be out. That’s a crazy thought, considering the Bears and Lights were picked to finish second and third, respectively. Fortunately for both teams, the season doesn’t end today, and they both have time to make up ground. This weekend’s games against the nationally ranked Bulldogs and the Griffins will be big for Northern, as two wins in the Armory would get the Lights right back in the playoff hunt.

On the women’s side, the Skylights would be the No. 1 seed in the playoffs if the season ended today. UGF, Westminster, LC State, Carroll and RMC would also be in. But, like with the men, there’s a long way to go, and when the league consists of five of the Top 25 women’s teams in the country, you can bet, a lot is going to happen between now and Feb. 28.

NAIA Women’s Coaches Poll

Rn. Prv. Rec. Pts.

1 1 Freed-Hardeman (9) 17-1 250

2 2 Oklahoma City (1) 11-1 242

3 3 Campbellsville (Ky.) 18-1 234

4 5 Westminster (Utah) 12-2 221

5 6 Langston (Okla.) 15-0 218

6 7 Bethel (Tenn.) 16-2 214

7 4 Loyola (La.) 15-1 201

8 8 Oklahoma Baptist 12-3 192

9 9 Concordia (Calif.) 14-3 190

10 11 MSU-Northern 19-1 178

11 13 Vanguard (Calif.) 12-4 167

12 T14 Shawnee State (Ohio) 17-3 160

13 T14 Lewis-Clarke State 16-3 146

14 16 The Master’s (Calif.) 14-4 144

15 18 Our Lady of the Lake 12-4 134

16 17 Westmont (Calif.) 16-3 131

17 10 Wiley (Texas) 10-2 130

18 12 MidAmerica Nazarene 13-5 117

19 21 Lindsey Wilson (Ky.) 16-4 101

20 20 Lyon (Ark.) 13-4 99

21 19 Carroll (Mont.) 11-6 83

22 RV Great Falls (Mont.) 16-3 80

23 25 Martin Methodist 15-3 73

24 23 Columbia (Mo.) 13-5 58

25 24 Georgetown (Ky.) 10-6 56

Others receiving votes: Benedictine (Kan.) 51; Texas Wesleyan 48; Baker (Kan.) 18; Xavier (La.) 14; Pikeville (Ky.) 12; Cumberlands (Ky.) 12; Cumberland (Tenn.) 9; Wayland Baptist (Texas) 7.

NAIA Men’s Coaches Poll

Rn. Prv. Rec. Pts.

1 1 Campbellsville (Ky.) (10) 19-1 250

2 3 Cal State San Marcos 19-2 240

3 4 Pikeville (Ky.) 18-1 230

4 2 Hope International (Calif.) 16-1 228

5 5 Martin Methodist (Tenn.) 17-1 218

6 6 Talladega (Ala.) 17-3 208

7 8 Freed-Hardeman (Tenn.) 15-2 194

8 7 Oklahoma Baptist 15-3 190

9 9 Montana Western 15-3 183

9 10 Benedictine (Kan.) 16-3 183

11 11 Our Lady of the Lake 12-1 170

12 15 Concordia (Calif.) 17-3 165

13 14 Dalton State (Ga.) 15-2 155

14 11 Wayland Baptist 15-2 148

15 13 Arizona Christian 16-4 134

16 20 Columbia (Mo.) 16-3 126

17 18 Georgetown (Ky.) 15-3 116

18 16 William Carey (Miss.) 12-4 113

19 RV Great Falls (Mont.) 14-4 98

20 21 Xavier (La.) 13-6 97

21 22 Evangel (Mo.) 11-6 86

22 24 LSU Alexandria 9-1 78

23 23 Philander Smith (Ark.) 12-4 74

24 25 Cumberlands (Ky.) 16-4 66

25 NR Mid-America Christian 12-6 53

Others Receiving Votes: Westmont (Calif.) 47; Montana Tech 24; Missouri Valley 22; Central Methodist (Mo.) 19; Bethel (Tenn.) 15; St. Gregory's (Okla.) 15; Lewis-Clark State (Idaho) 13; SAGU (Texas) 5; Vanguard (Calif.) 3.