Skylights split dramatic games in the Armory

The NAIA Game of the Week doesn't come to Havre, Montana, too often. But the one that did Saturday night lived up to the hype. Unfortunately for the Montana State University-Northern Skylights, they were on the wrong end of the outcome.

Despite a herculean effort from Natalee Faupel, the No. 11 Skylights just couldn't get the stops they needed against the No. 2 Lewis-Clark State Warriors in a 75-66 loss inside the Armory Gymnasium. The win was undefeated LC State's 21st in a row, while the Skylights dipped to 5-3 in the Frontier Conference.

"Our kids battled," Northern head coach Chris Mouat said. "I'm not disappointed in the effort. They (Warriors) are a great team, and we knew it would take our very best effort and our kids gave that tonight. But in the end, we also have to play better, we have to execute better. But no doubt, I'm very proud of the way our kids battled."

Northern did battle, to the very end, but, LC State, which leads the NAIA in scoring and field goal percentage, as well a host of other categories, was able to solve the Skylights' nationally ranked defense when it mattered most.

Northern led 8-6 in the first quarter, but a Megan Risinger 3-pointer capped a 10-0 Warrior run, giving LCSC an 18-14 lead at the end of the first period. The second stanza was similar. Early buckets by Faupel and Sierra Richards gave the Skylights the lead back, but the inside play of Jossilyn Blackman and a triple by Lauren Johnson helped LC finish the half on a 16-5 run. Johnson, Blackman and Hailey Turner were a shining example of LC State's talent and depth, as leading scorers Caelyn Orlandi and Brittany Tackett were held to just six points in the first half, and yet, LC led 38-27 at the break.

"We rolled the dice tonight," Mouat said. "LC is one of the best 3-point shooting teams in the country. They are a great shooting team, so we wanted to guard the perimeter, and we did a great job of that. We limited them to five 3-point attempts. But that also left us in a lot of one-and-one matches inside, and they (Warriors) made the most of a lot of them. They finished really well around the rim, like they have done all season."

But as strong as LC was inside, Northern never, ever went away, on either end of the floor. Faupel tried her best to take over the game, scoring 10 points in a six-minute stretch in the third period, but LC continued to answer, as Tackett scored the final eight points of the quarter. Northern had cut the Warrior lead to four three different times in the period, but with Tackett's late flurry, the Warriors still led 55-48 with 10 minutes to go.

Tackett continued her fine play in the fourth, and Orlandi heated up as well, helping the Warriors push their lead back to as many 10 points with 2:58 to go. However, Northern showed its grit down the stretch as Cydney Auzenne hit two bombs, the second of which cut the lead to 69-64 with :48 left. And still, LC stood just too tall as the Warriors made eight free throws in the final minute to salt the game away and put four games between themselves and the Skylights in the Frontier standings.

"They (Warriors) showed how talented and deep they are tonight," Mouat said. "They have a lot of depth and they keep coming at you. Caelyn Orlandi made some amazing plays down the stretch and Brittany Tackett finished, but I thought their depth was also big tonight."

Faupel was big for Northern, scoring 27 points and grabbing seven boards, leaving her six points away from breaking MSU-N's all-time scoring record. Richards also came up clutch with 10 points and 12 rebounds, while Auzenne added 12. But in the end, LC State's talent came through. The Warriors shot 51 percent for the game, made 13 free throws and got 18 points from Tackett, 13 by Orlandi, 11 each from Natahnee Spencer and Risinger and another nine from Blackman.

The loss was a tough one for the Skylights, especially knowing they have to go back to LC State in just three weeks. But Mouat also said his team will learn a lot from the game.

"Again, the effort and the character our kids showed, was great," Mouat said. "But, it was disappointing to see us shoot 3-for-25 from three, and we missed a few layups, too. It's disappointing because I know we're better than that. And our kids know it, too. They are a hard-working group, and they understand we have to shoot it better than we did tonight. And they will work hard to make sure they do."

Skylights hold off Orediggers

The Montana State University-Northern Skylights were hyped up for their huge showdown with the Lewis-Clark State Warriors. But the Skylights in no way were looking past the Montana Tech Orediggers.

Friday night, MSU-N dominated the first three quarters, then had to hold off a furious Tech rally in a 56-52 win inside the Armory Gymnasium.

"We got sloppy in the fourth quarter, but we weren't looking past Tech at all," Northern junior Jacy Thompson said. "We were very focused on just this game. Tech has really good scorers, and they started to make shots, and we didn't execute well at all in the fourth quarter. But I thought because we were as focused as we were, we played really well for a lot of the game. But that fourth quarter, we can learn a lot from that going forward."

Not looking past Tech was a big priority for Northern, and it showed early on, as the Skylights got a quick four points from Natalee Faupel, then took the lead for good on a 3-pointer by Molly Kreycik. Jacy Thompson would add a triple of her own, as the Skylights led 19-15 after one.

Then, Northern really took control. Kreycik and Katie Fertterer would connect on back-to-back shots midway through the second stanza, capping a 10-0 run. And when Cydney Auzenne hit a running shot at the buzzer, Northern found itself ahead of the scrappy Orediggers 35-21. Things would get even better for the Skylights in the third period. Northern came out of halftime like gangbusters, going inside to Sierra Richards over and over, in what ended up being an 14-7 run - a run which left Northern with a commanding 49-34 edge with 10 minutes to go. The lead was certainly sparked by Richards, who scored eight points in a four-minute stretch.

"I thought for three quarters, we executed really well on both ends of the floor," Northern head coach Chris Mouat said. "I thought we defended really well, we rebounded well, and we finished. But in the fourth quarter, I felt like we tightened up, we started to turn the ball over and miss some shots and some free throws that we should have, and normally do make."

Tighten up the Skylights did, but they couldn't know that Richards' hoop with 7:06 left would be their last field goal of the contest. Leading 51-38, the Skylights watched as Tech outscored them 18-7 in the period, and 3-pointers by Martha Dembek and Monica Landdeck helped cut the Northern lead all the way down to 55-52 with :11 seconds left. A Molly Kreycik free throw and some good defense would end up being the difference, but there was no doubt it was a nerve-racking ending to a game Northern seemed to have full control of.

"All the credit to Montana Tech," Mouat said. "We had a comfortable lead, but they never stopped playing. They are an explosive team, and you saw that with what they did in the fourth quarter. I'm proud of our kids for finding a way to hang on there at the end, but take nothing away from Tech. They never went away, they kept fighting, and they made it a real fight there at the end."

Richards was a big part of that fight, and she had another big night with 17 points and seven boards for the Skylights. Faupel added 11 and Thompson chipped in with 10 as Northern was even on the boards and held Tech to just 32 percent shooting for the night, even with the incredible fourth-quarter comeback. Dembek, the Frontier's leading scorer, finished with 15 points for the Orediggers.

With the weekend split, Northern is now 5-3 in the Frontier and 15-4 overall. The Skylights will finish off their six-game home stand by hosting UGF this Thursday, followed by Carroll College Friday night.

Skylights are 5-3 in Frontier, 15-4 overall; Next Up: vs UGF Thursday

Skylights 56, Montana Tech 52

Tech 15 6 13 18 – 52

Northern 19 16 14 7 – 56

MT - Hattie Thatcher 3-9 3-3 10, Monica Landdeck 2-8 2-2 7, Kourtney Coverdell 1-7 2-2 4, Martha Dembek 6-12 2-2 15, Kaylynn Coverdell 0-2 0-0 0, Callee Remsen 1-1 0-0 2, Kaylee Zard 0-3 0-0 0, Shay Potter 2-4 0-0 4, Rachel Farris 2-7 4-6 8, Bailey Armbruster 1-3 0-0 2. Totals 18-56 13-15 52.

MSU-N - Jacy Thompson 3-8 3-4 10, Katie Fertterer 2-6 0-0 4, Natalee Faupel 5-14 1-4 11, Peyton Filius 0-1 2-2 2, Molly Kreycik 2-8 3-4 8, Shiloh McCormick 0-0 0-0 0, Cydney Auzenne 1-7 2-2 4, Sierra Richards 5-6 7-12 17. Totals 18-50 18-28 56.

3-pt FG: MT 3-11 (Thatcher 1-2, Landdeck 1-5, Coverdell 0-2, Dembek 1-2), MSU-N 2-11 (Thompson 1-3, Fertterer 0-1, Faupel 0-1, Kreycik 1-4, Auzenne 0-2). Rebounds: MT 39 (TEAM 14), MSU-N 38 (Richards 7). Fouls: MT 21, MSU-N 14. Fouled out: Coverdell.

LC State 75, Skylights 66

Lewis-Clark State 18 20 17 20 – 75

Northern 14 13 21 18 – 66

LCSC - Natahnee Spencer 3-6 5-6 11, Caelyn Orlandi 6-13 1-2 13, Jansen Edminston 0-1 0-0 0, Hailey Turner 3-4 0-0 6, Brittany Tackett 8-11 2-3 18, Lauren Johnson 2-4 0-0 5, Brooke Litalien 1-4 0-0 2, Jossilyn Blackman 4-10 1-2 9, Megan Risinger 3-5 4-4 11. Totals 30-58 13-17 75.

MSU-N - Jacy Thompson 1-13 3-4 5, Katie Fertterer 0-2 0-0 0, Brandy Lambourne 0-1 0-0 0, Natalee Faupel 12-21 3-3 27, Peyton Filius 1-6 0-0 2, Molly Kreycik 2-7 3-4 8, Shiloh McCormick 1-2 0-0 2, Cydney Auzenne 4-9 2-2 12, Sierra Richards 5-8 0-0 10. Totals 26-69 11-13 66.

3-pt FG: LCSC 2-5 (Johnson 1-3, Litalien 0-1, Risinger 1-1), MSU-N 3-25 (Thompson 0-7, Fertterer 0-1, Lambourne 0-1, Faupel 0-3, Filius 0-5, Kreycik 1-4, Auzenne 2-4). Rebounds: LCSC 34 (Risinger 8), MSU-N 36 (Richards 12). Fouls: LCSC 13, MSU-N 18. Fouled out: none.