Skylights excited to play at vaunted Lady Griz

The game won’t count in the record books, or in any standings, but it certainly matters to both teams playing inside Dahlberg Arena tonight in Missoula.

That’s because tonight’s exhibition game is a big opportunity for both the Montana State University-Northern Skylights, and the Montana Lady Griz — for different reasons.

For the 3-0 Skylights, ranked 16th in the NAIA, it’s a chance to take on one of the big fish. A chance to see just what they’re made of against a historic NCAA Division I program. On the other side, tonight’s game is not only the season debut for the Lady Griz, it marks the start of a new era, as Montana plays its first game without legendary head coach Robin Selvig.

The Lady Griz, under new head coach, and former Griz legend Shannon Schewyen, will once again be a tall task for the talented Skylights. Though UM is expected to be a young team, especially after losing senior star Kayleigh Valley to a season-ending knee injury, Northern head coach Chris Mouat knows exactly what his team will be up against tonight.

“It’s always an exciting opportunity for us to go play Montana,” Mouat said. “They are one of the great programs in the country. It will be different this year, with Robin not there anymore, but I know that Shannon will do a great job with them. I have a tremendous amount of respect for Shannon. So, I expect nothing less than to go up against another great Montana team, one that has a lot of talent and athleticism and a team that be will be disciplined and very well coached.”

Those things can also be said about the Skylights, who are off to a perfect start, and who are bringing perhaps their most veteran team ever to Missoula. UM has played the Lady Griz five other times in Mouat’s tenure, but with Natalee Faupel, Jacy Thompson and a boatload of senior-junior depth, the Skylights will be gunning to give a young Lady Griz team all they can handle tonight.

And yet, Mouat also wants this game to be a great learning tool for his team — no matter the outcome.

“We’ll go down there and give them everything we’ve got,” Mouat said. “But, at the end of the day, we want to make sure we keep improving, that we keep moving forward. We’re off to a good start, but we also have plenty of work to do. And what better opportunity to test yourself and keep getting better than against a great program like Montana has.”

Tonight’s game in Missoula between UM and MSU-N tips off at 7 p.m.