Skylights ready for round three with LC State, Tech

Winning on the road in the Frontier Conference isn't easy. In fact, it's hard. But, when you're trying to win on the road, inside the gym where one of the top teams in the NAIA play, it's even harder.

That's what the No. 11 Montana State University-Northern Skylights (8-4, 18-5) are tasked with tonight when they visit the No. 2 Lewis-Clark State Warriors. The Skylights will also play their fourth straight road game when they travel to surging Montana Tech Saturday night.

And while Northern will have its hands full with the Orediggers, tonight's game is a big one. MSU-N has already lost to LCSC (12-1, 24-1) twice this season, including a hard-fought 75-66 loss three weeks ago in the Armory Gymnasium. However, one thing has changed since that last meeting - the Warriors have been shown to be beatable. Carroll upended LC State last week in Helena.

And still, the Warriors are tough to beat at home, and are perfect on their home floor this season. They also possess the No. 1 scoring offense in the NAIA and the No. 7 scoring defense, so on both ends of the floor, they're so good. The talent is also deep, and no one knows that better than MSU-N head coach Chris Mouat.

"They (Warriors) have an outstanding point guard in Caelyn Orlandi, who scores very well but also leads the country in assists," Mouat said, "and Brittany Tackett is an amazing player in the paint for them. That being said, they are by no means a two-person show. They have excellent shooters across the board, and they have a whole bunch of them. And, they play 3-4 different kids inside who can really do damage."

To limit that damage, the Skylights' short-handed squad will have to do what it does best, defend and rebound. Northern is No. 2 in the NAIA in defensive rebounding and No. 4 in the nation in scoring defense, allowing just 54 points per game. But MSU-N will only be able to limit the potent Warrior offense so much, so the Skylights must also play well offensively. Natalee Faupel leads the Frontier in scoring at 17 points per game, while Sierra Richards and Jacy Thompson each add 12 per night. In recent games, Molly Kreycik and Cydney Auzenne have shot the ball really well, and that needs to continue tonight, as does the heady play of Katie Fertterer and Peyton Filius off the bench.

But as tough as tonight's game in Lewiston is, Saturday night's game at Montana Tech (5-8, 11-13) will be no picnic either. The Skylights have beaten the Orediggers twice this season, but those two wins came by a combined five points, and both games went right down to the wire. So it's going to be even more challenging for the Skylights to pull off yet another win against a very talented Tech squad.

"Hattie Thatcher is their engine and leads them well," Mouat said. "She plays very hard and has already had some monster games offensively. She is very quick to the rim and has great range from the 3-point line. Tech is an outstanding free-throw shooting team and keeping them off of the line will be really important if we are going to be successful. They have a lot of scoring balance, and Monica Landdeck has made an immediate impact for them. As a team, they play very hard and Carly has done an outstanding job with the program. They play hard and execute well."

Execute is what the Skylights need to do both nights. Northern is in the midst of a brutal six-game road trip that also takes them to UGF next Thursday and Carroll College next Saturday, two more teams the Skylights have waged some intense battles with already this season. So, with those games still looming, and with Northern in the thick of the race for the Frontier title and home-court advantage in the playoffs, this week's games are crucial.

"This is a long trip against two talented teams," Mouat said.

Tonight's NAIA Game of the Week between the Skylights and Warriors tips at 6:30 P.S.T. in Lewiston, Idaho. Northern visit to Montana Tech gets underway at 5:30 p.m. Saturday in Butte.