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Frontier Notebook: Northern's Faupel on the verge of history

Frontier Conference Notebook

They say records are meant to be broken. But even with the long line of phenomenal basketball players that have come through the women’s program at Montana State University-Northern it’s taken over two decades for the big one to fall.

Northern senior Natalee Faupel, the reigning Frontier Conference Player of the Year, and an NAIA First-Team All-American last season, is six points away from passing Northern Montana College Hall of Famer Sheila Green as the Skylights’ all-time leading scorer, and, with Faupel averaging 17 points per game this season, the passing will likely happen sometime during Thursday night’s game against UGF inside the Armory Gymnasium.

Green’s incredible career from 1988-1992 saw her rack up 1,566 points. After last Saturday’s 27-point outburst, Faupel now has 1,561 career points, and while she will become Northern’s all-time leading scorer, she actually comes into Thursday night’s game in third place on the all-time list. Jodi Kruta, who scored 1,562 points from 1992-96 is one point ahead of Faupel as it stands. Faupel passed Samm Schermele for third on the list in last Friday’s win over Montana Tech.

And like those she’s passing, Faupel’s career has been an incredible one. The former Butte High product started almost immediately for the Skylights as a freshman, averaging 9 points and four rebounds per game. As an All-Conference selection her sophomore year, Faupel upped her average to 13 ppg, before averaging 16 points and six rebounds per night during last year’s incredible campaign. And even with the pressure of being the returning Player of the Year, Faupel has increased her output this season. She averages 17 ppg and a career-high seven rebounds, while also dishing two assists, shooting a remarkable 52 percent from the field and playing an average of 37 minutes per night.

Faupel joined Northern’s exclusive 1,000-point club early in her junior season, a list that currently has Green at No. 1, Kruta at No. 2, Faupel at No. 3, Schermele () at No. 4, Andrea Anderson at No. 5 (1, 511), Charlene Noreen-Wasson at No. 6 (1,410), Kristin Lawrence (1,343) at No. 7, Stacy Barnes (1, 250) at No. 8, DeLayne Johnston (1,153) at No. 9, Jordan Bruursema (1,077) at No. 10, Jaci Heny (1,045) at No. 11 and A’Jha Edwards (1,011) at No. 12. Northern junior Jacy Thompson is also within sight of the club, as she has 868 career points.

Marching in Different Directions

When the Carroll College Fighting Saints come to the Armory Friday night, their two teams will have very different records. And much has changed since Carroll and Northern battled it out earlier this month in Helena.

When Northern went to Carroll back on Jan. 7, the Carroll women were ranked No. 24 in the nation and were right alongside the Skylights in the early Frontier standings. In that game, Northern prevailed 58-56 in a thriller. It also started a rough stretch for the Saints, in which they lost four straight games before finally rebounding to beat Rocky Mountain College last Saturday night.

Still, even with that win, Carroll is sitting at 3-5 in the Frontier standings heading into this weekend’s road trip to Northern and last-place UGF. The Saints are no longer anywhere near the NAIA Top 25, and they have a pretty big mountain to climb if they want to not only contend for a league title, but return to the NAIA national tournament. Nevertheless, Carroll’s record doesn’t fool anyone either. Despite its struggles, Carroll is still loaded with talent, including junior forward Cassidy Hashley, who averages a double-double, and point guard Bailey Pasta, who is having a phenomenal season.

Meanwhile, the Carroll men have gone in the opposite direction since a Jan. 7 meeting with the Lights. On that night, Northern was the ranked No. 15 in the NAIA and Carroll, having lost three straight, had slipped all the way to No. 23 in the NAIA Poll. But that weekend, the Saints swept UGF and Northern and haven’t looked back, as the Saints bring a six-game winning streak into the Armory Friday night.

Carroll’s midseason lull was obviously just that, a lull. The Saints blasted previously unbeaten Western last Thursday night to get back into first place in the Frontier standings, and they are playing as well as anyone in the NAIA right now. Carroll leads the country in field goal percentage and free-throw shooting and is fifth in the nation in 3-point shooting. Senior forward Ryan Imhoff and Zach Taylor combine 33 ppg, and the Saints’ depth, with Match Burnham, Oliver Carr and Matt Wyman, give them a lineup that is next to impossible to defend for 40 minutes.

Friday night’s game will also be former Havre Blue Pony Dane Warp’s first official game in the his hometown. Warp, a true freshman for the Saints, is coming off the bench to give Carroll four points per game. He scored a season-high 18 points back on Nov. 12 against Salish Kootenai College and also had a 12-poiint game the night before against Warner-Pacific.

SOU’s Craig Howard passes

Normally, this column doesn’t have football news in it in January, but the Frontier was saddened by the passing of Southern Oregon football coach Craig Howard last week.

Howard delivered SOU to incredible heights during his tenure in Ashland, including winning or tying for three Frontier Conference titles, and of course, leading them to the 2014 NAIA national championship, as well as a return trip to the championship game in 2015. Howard had a record of 50-23 at SOU, and he was also known for being Tim Tebow’s head coach at Nease High School in Florida where he won the 2005 state championship.

Howard was 64.

Frontier Honors

Carroll College’s Zach Taylor and UM-Western’s Aniese Palmore were honored by the Frontier this week.

Taylor is a 6-0 senior guard from Duvall, Wash, who was named Frontier Men’s Player of the Week. No. 13 Carroll College won two games beating No. 9 Montana Western 89-64 on the road and Rocky Mountain College 78-72 at home. Taylor averaged 21.5 points, 5.5 rebounds, three assists and two steals. He was 15 of 26 from the field (58 percent), 4 of 9 (44 percent) 3-point field goals and a perfect 9 of 9 from the free throw line.

Palmore is a 5-5 senior guard from Santa Monica, California, who earned Frontier Women’s Player of the Week honors. No. 25 Montana Western recorded two conference home wins downing (RV) Carroll College 53-51 and Rocky Mountain College 52-47. Palmore averaged 24 points, 4.5 rebounds and 1.5 steals.

Northern’s David Straughter and Natalee Faupel were nominated for this week’s awards.

 

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