Frontier Notebook: Frontier season at halfway mark

The Frontier Conference basketball season has reached the halfway point, and to say nothing is settled yet would be a vast understatement.

On the men’s side, Lewis-Clark State has won 10 straight games and sports a 7-1 Frontier Conference record. Included in that was a huge win over Carroll College Saturday night in Lewiston, Idaho, but, the Warriors still only lead the Saints by a half of a game in the Frontier standings, and they have just a two game lead on UM-Western.

The Warriors, Saints and Bulldogs are the only teams with winning records in league play right now, but, there’s still time for the next wave of squads to make up ground. UGF and Rocky Mountain College still get to play LCSC and Carroll twice, and that means both the Argos and Battlin’ Bears have time to climb back into the Frontier race.

The same can be said for the Montana State University-Northern Lights, who are just 2-6 in league play. But, if the Lights are going to make up any ground on the conference leaders, they’ll have to do it on the road, as Northern plays its next six games away from the Armory Gymnasium.

The MSU-N Skylights meanwhile, are firmly entrenched in the Frontier title chase, but, to stay in it, the Skylights will have to find ways to win on the road, and that won’t be easy with three of their next four games coming up being at UGF, at Carroll and at LC State.

The LCSC women took full control of the Frontier title chase when the Warriors edged second-place Carroll in double-overtime last Saturday in Idaho. The Warriors have a two-game lead on the Saints, and the two teams will meet just once more this season, with that game in two weeks in Helena. Carroll is still in good shape, with four straight home games upcoming, while Northern and UGF are tied for third and RMC one game back in fourth.

Top Players

There have been some exciting performances on the men’s side this season, but few have been more consistent than RMC’s Rob Nyby. The senior from Plentywood is averaging 20 points and five rebounds per game for the Battlin’ Bears.

UM-Western’s Dexter Williams Jr. was tabbed as the Frontier Preseason Player of the Year, and while Williams Jr., is having another fine season, the likes of Nyby, LCSC’s Jake Wiley and Carroll’s Zach Taylor probably have the inside track on Player of the Year honors right now. But, there’s still plenty of time for more stars to make their mark on the league, and Williams Jr., teammate Shyke Smalls, Montana Tech’s Jalen Coates and MSU-N’s Warren Edmondson are all having strong seasons too.

On the women’s side, the Player of the Year honor could come from just about anywhere. At the top of the list is LCSC’s Caelyn Orlandi, UGF’s Erin Legel and MSU-N’s Natalee Faupel. All three are putting together incredible seasons, and all three average more than 16 points per game.

Going into the season, Legel was the clear favorite to win the award, but this year, the Argos have become more balanced, as Nneka Nnadi and Whitney George have really stepped up. In fact, Nnadi continues to lead the Frontier in scoring at over 17 points per night.

Other players making a strong case for Frontier honors at the halfway point in the season include, MSU-N’s Jacy Thompson, RMC’s Whitney Mitchell and Carroll’s Cassidy Hashley.

Rare Feat

You don’t see it often anymore in the Frontier, or in college athletics much, but Northern sophomore Cydney Auzenne is making her mark in back-to-back major sports.

Auzenne started for portions of the 2015 volleyball season for the Skylights and head coach Bill Huebsch, and she finished the season with 123 kills and 136 digs.

Now, the former multi-sport star from Regina Beach, Saskatchewan, is making an impact in basketball as well. Auzenne was thrust into the starting lineup two weeks ago, and in Northern’s sweep this past weekend, she averaged 13 points and six rebounds per night, while making some clutch, fourth-quarter buckets, including five 3-pointers against UM-Western, in both of Northern’s close wins.

“I was put into a tough situation because I’m trying to fill a great fifth-year senior’s shoes,” Auzenne said. “And I know there’s no way I can do it like (Rachelle) does. She’s such a great player and a great leader. So my mindset has just been to do anything I can to help the team out, whenever I can. So I’m really pleased with the way I played and so glad I could help us tonight.”

Players of the Week

RMC’s Roby Nyby and LCSC’s Caelyn Orlandi have been named Frontier Conference Men’s and Women’s Players of the Week.

Nyby averaged 26 points, six rebounds, two assists and two steals per game. He was 15 of 32 in field goals (47 percent) including 10 of 17 (59 percent) from 3-point-range. From the free throw line, he was 12 of 14 (86 percent).

In a win over Carroll, Orlandi scored 23 points with seven rebounds, four assists and three steals. She was 10 of 25 (67 percent) from the field, 1 of 3 in 3-point field goals and 2 of 2 from the free throw line.

Warren Edmondson and Cydney Auzenne were MSU-Northern’s nominees this week.