Skylights will be challenged this winter

The Montana State University-Northern women’s basketball team has been one of the standard-bearers of the Frontier Conference for the last several years, including a run of three straight NAIA national tournament appearances.

And one big reason why the Skylights are so good in league play is because they are always battled-tested thanks to a tough non-conference schedule. Well, veteran Northern head coach Chris Mouat has put together another tough schedule, which means, the Skylights should be ready for the rigors of the Frontier come January and February.

Mouat, who led the Skylights to a 23-9 record, a third-place finish in the Frontier, and yet another trip to the national tourney, announced his upcoming 2016-17 schedule recently, and there’s plenty of tough games to help Northern get ready for conference play.

MSU-N will open its season with three straight at home, including back-to-back dates with the University of Lethbridge, as well the season-opener against Mount Royal University on Oct. 20. In all, the home non-conference schedule is an exciting one for the Skylights, who will play in the Armory Gymnasium six times before January. Northern also hosts Central Baptist University on Nov. 4, Nueta Hidatsa College Dec. 15 and NCAA Division III Pacific University Dec. 18. The Skylights also close out the non-conference season with a game against Willamette in Helena Dec. 20.

Of course, Northern will also get tested on the road, and, the Skylights’ first road game of the season will come against the University of Montana Lady Griz Nov. 1 in Missoula. Northern has been playing the Lady Griz every couple of years. While the game will be an exhibition game for both teams, the competition, and the experience of playing a game in the famed Dahlberg Arena, against the most storied women’s program in the Big Sky Conference, will certainly be an awesome test and experience for the Skylights.

Northern’s road schedule doesn’t get any easier from there. MSU-N will also travel to Kirkland, Washington, for a pair of games against Cascade Conference foes, as well as making the trip out to Jackson, Tennessee, for the Rotary Classic. Northern’s two opponents in Tennessee, the former home of the NAIA women’s national tournament, are yet to be determined, but Mouat said the Skylights will play two very tough NAIA games.

“The games in Jackson will be against top-15 teams in the nation,” Mouat said. “Russ Davis at Vanguard invited us to it, and it will be really challenging.  We just don’t know who we will be playing yet. Regardless, they will be tough, tough national-tourney teams.”

And, those games should certainly prepare the Skylights for the daunting conference season, which again starts with two games in December, before going full-tilt in January. Northern opens its season playing three conference games against each team in the league with a visit to Montana Tech Dec. 1 and Lewis-Clark State Dec. 3. Tech and LCSC are two of the teams the Skylights will have to play twice on the road this season, with the others being UGF and Carroll — two of Northern’s biggest rivals. MSU-N resumes league play Jan. 5 at UGF and Jan. 7 at Carroll, before playing six straight at home.

The Skylights begin the January home stretch with Rocky Mountain College Jan. 13 and UM-Western Jan. 14. During that home stand, they also play Tech, LCSC, UGF and Carroll, before striking out on the road for six straight games in February. The Skylights then come home to close out the regular season with games against Western Feb. 24 and RMC Feb. 25.

The Skylights will begin the new season against Mount Royal University of Canada Oct. 20 in the Armory Gymnasium.

2016-17 Skylight Basketball Schedule

Oct. 20 vs Mount Royal

Oct. 21 vs Lethbridge

Oct. 29 vs Lethbridge

Nov. 1 at Montana

Nov. 4 vs Central Baptist

Nov. 11 at Evergreen State

Nov. 12 at Northwest University

Nov. 25-26 at Rotary Classic in Jackson, Tenn., Opp TBA

Dec. 1 at Montana Tech

Dec. 3 at Lewis-Clark State

Dec. 15 vs Nueta Hidatsa College

Dec. 18 vs Pacific

Dec. 20 vs Willamette in Helena

Jan. 5 at UGF

Jan. 7 at Carroll College

Jan. 13 vs Rocky Mountain

Jan. 14 vs UM-Western

Jan. 20 vs Montana Tech

Jan. 21 vs Lewis-Clark State

Jan. 26 vs UGF

Jan. 27 vs Carroll College

Feb. 2 at Rocky Mountain

Feb. 4 at UM-Western

Feb. 9 at Lewis-Clark State

Feb. 11 at Montana Tech

Feb. 16 at UGF

Feb. 18 at Carroll College

Feb. 24 vs UM-Western

Feb. 25 vs Rocky Mountain

March 1-7 Frontier Playoffs