Skylights want more road wins

Momentum is a big thing in college basketball. And the Montana State University-Northern Skylights built up quite a bit of it this past weekend. Now however, the trick is to keep it going.

Northern will try and follow up its two big road wins last weekend with two more, starting tonight when the No. 17 Skylights (7-5, 18-5) take on the UM-Western Bulldogs (3-9, 13-11) in Dillon. Northern will then close out its road schedule with a visit to Rocky Mountain College (5-7, 13-11) Saturday night.

While MSU-N is 3-1 combined against Western and RMC this season, this weekend’s games won’t be easy. Northern's first loss of the season came at the hands of the Battlin’ Bears back in December in Billings, and both games against the Bulldogs have been tight thus far.

Still, the Skylights should be brimming with confidence after beating the Lewis-Clark State Warriors last Saturday night in Lewiston, Idaho, a win that snapped LCSC’s 11-game winning streak. Northern should also be confident because it’s shooting the ball as well as it has all season, and getting great production from Natalee Faupel and Jacy Thompson, who combine to score more than 30 points a game.

MSU-N has also developed a strong inside presence with Sierra Richards and the continued fine play of sophomore Cydney Auzenne, who is now third on the team in scoring. So that, plus the win over LCSC, bodes well for the Skylights as they finish up a grueling six-game road trip.

Again however, neither game this week will be easy.

“This is our third weekend in a row on the road. We have had two tough trips to prepare us for this one. We are coming off of a good weekend which will hopefully give us some momentum heading into the weekend,” MSU-N head Chris Mouat said.

Tonight’s trip to Dillon will have Northern facing a scrappy Western team, led by Sierra Higheagle. However, the Bulldogs will severely miss the presence of sophomore standout Molly Klinker, who suffered a season-ending injury last week.

“Western has changed due to injuries, and they played great in a big win at Rocky,” Mouat said. “They are playing fast and shooting it well. Defensive transition and controlling tempo will be big for us. Western is just a completely different team that we've played this year. They are getting big contributions from some kids that have been waiting in the wings for an opportunity. We will have to be at the top of our game and on our toes for 40 minutes because they are dangerous right now.”

And if the Skylights can get past Western tonight, the challenge only gets greater Saturday night in Billings. MSU-N and Rocky split the first two games of the season series, and the rubber match on Saturday should be a good one.

The Bears are led by guard Whitney Mitchell and forward Tanika Capouch, but they also have a strong supporting cast, and a deep bench, and because of how explosive their offense, the Bears give even the best defenses in the league, one like Northern’s, plenty of fits.

“Rocky is a team that has figured it out despite playing with some key players,” Mouat said. “They have a ton of weapons and are coming off of a huge win against Carroll. They still have all of the pieces to beat anyone in our league. Both games are big for us. This is a great test for our team and we will need to be very sharp at both ends.”

But, the Skylights are also confident going forward, and they know they are starting to peak at just the right time, and, with four home games to close the regular season coming up, a couple of wins this weekend would go a long way toward helping the Skylights stay right in the heart of the Frontier title chase.

Tonight’s game between Northern and Western starts at 5:30 in Dillon. Saturday night’s battle between the Skylights and Battlin’ Bears also starts at 5:30 p.m. in Billings. The Skylights are back home to host UGF next Thursday night.