Frontier Notebook: Skylights keep knocking off giants

Three weeks is all that stands between Frontier Conference basketball teams and the postseason. And on the women's side, things are going to be heated right to the bitter end.

For the fifth week in a row, five Frontier teams remained ranked in the NAIA Women's Coaches Poll, which was released Tuesday afternoon. The Montana State University-Northern Skylights are still ranked No. 11 after the Skylights swept Lewis-Clark State, then ranked No. 21 and Montana Tech. Northern's impressive 22-3 overall record has included three wins against fellow Top 25 teams in the last five weeks.

During MSU-N's 7-2 start to Frontier Conference play, the Skylights have knocked off the Warriors twice, a rare regular season sweep, as well as Carroll when the Fighting Saints were ranked No. 17 three weeks ago in Helena.

And the Skylights will have several more chances to build their resume' against nationally ranked rivals. Northern hosts Carroll Saturday night, and the Fighting Saints will come to Havre ranked No. 18 in the new NAIA Poll. Next Saturday, MSU-N will be at Westminster, which stayed at No. 4 in the latest poll, and on Feb. 28, the Skylights will close out conference play with a rematch against the University of Great Falls Argos. Currently ranked No. 20, UGF will likely still be in the Top 25 when it comes to the Armory Gymnasium in two weeks.

The Art of the Double-Double

Speaking of the rivalry between the Skylights and Argos, the two teams have so much in common, it's scary. But one thing that stands out above the rest is how productive their centers are.

Northern senior A'Jha Edwards just won her fifth Frontier Conference Player of the Week award after she earned two double-doubles against the Warriors and Orediggers. Edwards, who's making a strong case for Frontier Player of the Year, is now averaging 16 points and a league-best 13 rebounds per game. She also has a remarkable 18 double-doubles in 25 games this season, tying her total number of double-doubles from a year ago. Her biggest game statistically came when she scored 24 points and grabbed a school-record 25 rebounds against Northwood of Florida back in December.

But Edwards isn't alone when it comes to pulling off double-doubles. Right down the road in Great Falls, UGF senior Lindsey Abramson is doing it too. The 6-3 senior, who averages 14 points and 11 rebounds per night, has 14 double-doubles this season, and she had 19 of them as a junior. Abramson's most productive game thus far came when she scored 25 points and grabbed 21 boards against Corban University back in November. She also scored 22 points and pulled down 14 rebounds in the Argos' upset of MSU-N two weeks ago in Great Falls, and fans can watch two of the best centers in all of the NAIA go head-to-head one more time when the two rivals meet Feb. 28 in Havre.

Another Chance

Last Saturday's overtime win at Montana Tech was a big one for the MSU-Northern Lights. The victory kept the Lights well within the hunt for a Frontier Conference playoff berth, even though things looked bleak when the Lights started off 0-4 in league play.

Now, MSU-N can make some real progress toward securing a Top Six finish in the Frontier standings, because the Lights get Rocky Mountain College and Carroll College at home this weekend. And the reason those games are so big is because Northern is currently tied with both teams, as well as Tech, at 4-5 in the league standings, and this weekend will certainly break that logjam apart.

Northern also needs to win both games, because any future ties between the Lights, Saints and Battlin' Bears would be determined by head-to-head matchups, and Northern already lost to Carroll, 89-83 in overtime and 66-56 at Rocky last month.

Rocky also comes to Havre having beaten the Lights two straight in the Armory Gymnasium, and four straight times overall. The Bears and Lights have had a great rivalry over the years, but as of late, RMC has certainly gotten the better of Northern. The Northern/Carroll rivalry is reversed however, at least in Havre. The Lights haven't lost a game to Carroll inside the Armory in seven years, and though the Saints are much-improved under second-year head coach Carson Cunningham, the Lights need that winning-at-home trend over the Saints to continue this weekend.

Numbers Watch

With just five games left in the Frontier Conference regular season, men's and women's scoring titles and rebounding titles are still up for grabs.

On the men's side, Montana Tech's Adam Greger leads the league at 19 points per game, while Carroll's Zach Taylor is second at 18 points per night and LC State's Jake Wiley is third at 15 points per outing. Corbin Pearson, Trevail Lee and Warren Edmonson all average 12 points per game for the Lights. LCSC's Eric Diouf leads the Frontier in rebounding at eight per game, while RMC's Tyree Anderson leads the league with four assists per outing.

UGF's Erin Legel continues to lead all Frontier women in scoring with her 19 point per game average. LCSC's Tanis Fuller is second in scoring at 17 points per night, while RMC's Whitney Mitchell and Northern's Edwards average 16 apiece. Edwards is also tops in the league in rebounding and blocked shots, while MSU-N senior Taylor Cummings paces the Frontier in assists 5.36 per game.