An All-American Tandem

A lot of great things happened to the Montana State University-Northern women's basketball team this season. In other words, it was another magical winter for the Skylights and their fans.

And even though Northern's final game was a heartbreaking defeat to eventual Fab Four qualifier Benedictine College, there was still plenty of good news for Northern as the season came to a close.

In particular, the good news that came late last week was the announcement that both Natalee Faupel and Jacy Thompson were named 2016 NAIA All-Americans.

"Very proud of both of them," Northern head coach Chris Mouat said. "They both did so much this season on both ends of the floor, so it's nice to see them be recognized for that. But, what's really special about both of them is that neither one is about awards. They would much rather win more games than get individual awards, and that speaks to their character and how much they helped our team achieve this season."

Faupel, a junior from Butte, who was also the Skylights' second straight Frontier Conference Player of the Year winner, also joined elite Northern company by being named an NAIA First-Team All-American. And that's another feat that was accomplished for the second straight season, as Faupel followed eight behind A'Jha Edwards, who was a 2015 First-Team All-American. Faupel and Edwards are now the only two Northern players to ever be named First Team by the NAIA, and Faupel becomes just the fourth Skylight to ever earn First-Team All-American honors from any publication.

"It's so tough to be named First Team," Mouat said. "So for Natalee to get there as a junior, it's tremendous. It speaks to her improvement, to her work ethic, and the contributions she made to our team this season."

Faupel was brilliant this season from start to finish. She averaged 16.3 points per game, to go along with a team-best 6.1 rebounds per night. She also shot nearly 48 percent from the floor, 85 percent from the foul line, made 22 3-pointers and finished the year with 32 steals. Faupel also scored 25 points or more in six different games and scored 30 more points three different times, all while logging a workman-like 31 minutes per night.

Meanwhile, Thompson, just a sophomore, earned Honorable Mention All-American accolades, after already earning the Frontier Defensive Player of the Year Award, and First-Team All-Conference honors.

Known best for a silky-smooth 3-point shot, Thompson did a lot more than just bury triples all season, though she did make 65 bombs, which was second in the Frontier. Offensively, Thompson averaged 14 ppg, while shooting better than 40 percent from beyond the arc. Included in her offensive output was a stellar 39-point performance in Northern's win over nationally ranked Wayland Baptist back in November, while she was a brilliant lockdown defender on the opposite end, and routinely helped shut down some of the top scorers in the Frontier night after night.

"The fact that both Jacy and Natalee are much more than pure offensive players, that says a lot about them," Mouat said. "I am just as proud of them for what they bring defensively, as everything they do for us offensively.

"Both are great players," he continued. "And being named All-American says so much about not only the season they both put together, but also the contributions they made to our team, a team that got back to the national tournament this year. So, I'm happy for both of them, and very proud of them, and they are both very deserving of these awards."

In all, 10 players from the Frontier were named NAIA All-American this season. LC State's Caelyn Orlandi and UGF's Erin Legel were named Second-Team All-Americans, while Carroll College's Katie Estey and LCSC's Brittany Tackett earned Third-Team honors. Carroll's Cassidy Hashley, UGF's Nneka Nnadi, UM-Western's Anise Palmore and RMC's Whitney Mitchell earned Honorable Mention. Faupel and teammate Cydney Auzenne were also named Daktronics NAIA Scholar Athletes for the 2016 season.