Skylights shut down Saints in Helena

The Montana State University-Northern women’s basketball team continued to buck a big trend this weekend. They say it’s hard to beat the same team three times in one season, especially a rival. But the Skylights did it for a second time in three days.

Playing its last road game of the regular season Saturday night in Helena, No. 15 MSU-N put together an incredible defensive effort in a 54-45 win over Carroll College. The win gave Northern three wins over Carroll, just two nights after MSU-N beat rival UGF for a third time. But more importantly, it also moved MSU-N to the 20-win mark on the season, and put the Skylights back in a tie with UM-Western for second place in the Frontier Conference heading into the final weekend of the regular season.

Northern hangs its hat on defense, and defense was the key Saturday night, as MSU-N held Carroll to a mere 13 points in the first half, while forcing 14 turnovers and limiting the Saints to just 35 percent shooting and four 3-pointers. Northern also held its own in the rebounding department, another Carroll staple.

“It doesn’t happen very often. Carroll has a really good team,” MSU-Northern coach Chris Mouat said. “They showed that in the fourth quarter when they came racing back on us and making shot after shot. They did a really good job. Any time you can beat them once is good. To beat them three times, that’s pretty special. It’s hard to do. It doesn’t happen very often. We’re happy. I’m proud of our kids for hanging in there and weathering the storm. Give Carroll a lot of credit. They didn’t quit playing.”

Carroll never quite, but the lead the Skylights built turned out to be insurmountable. Northern led 13-7 after the first quarter, 23-13 at halftime, and, for good measure, the Skylights held Carroll to just nine points in the third, and at one point, led by as many as 22 points. Carroll exploded for 23 points in the fourth stanza, but Northern had enough left in the tank to keep the Fighting Saints at bay.

“I thought our kids did such a great job of closing the game out,” Mouat said. “They did a great job of getting that big lead, and I thought we were really good on the boards and that is so important against Carroll. But I was really proud of the way we closed them out. We knew they would make a run, and they finally did. But our kids are tough. They just keep fighting and they didn’t panic when the run came. I’m just really proud of the way our kids responded to that.”

Defensively, Northern was spectacular, while on the other end, Natalee Faupel scored a game-high 16 points, but, fellow seniors Molly Kreycik and Cydney Auzenne delivered, too. Kreycik scored 12, while Auzenne buried three 3-pointers and scored 11. On the other side, Northern held Carroll star Cassidy Hashley to just nine points and eight rebounds. Hashley came in averaging 14 points and 11 boards per game.

“I thought Molly and Cyd were really good in that game. Cyd came out and hit two huge threes to start the second half,” Mouat said. “They really gave us a big spark offensively, and were a big reason why we were able to build such a big lead. Overall, though, everybody stepped up defensively and on the boards. It was another really good team win for us.”

Indeed. It was a great team win, and now, Northern finally comes home. The Skylights ended their grueling six-game road trip with Saturday night’s win and will close out the regular season with games against UM-Western this Friday and Rocky Mountain College Saturday night. Both games tip at 6 p.m. in the Armory Gymnasium, and the Skylights will be trying to secure the No. 2 seed in the upcoming Frontier Conference Tournament.

Lights come up short in

Helena

This Saturday, the Montana State University-Northern Lights will celebrate senior night against Rocky Mountain College. But last Saturday, the Lights couldn’t overcome the emotionally-charged Carroll College Fighting Saints on their senior night.

In Helena, the Lights fell to the No. 8 Saints 68-60, wrapping up a long road trip in which Northern went 4-2, and actually gained ground in the Frontier Conference standings. With two games left, the Lights are 9-7 in league play and are in fourth place, which means, they can host a Frontier playoff game if they hold on to fourth place.

And while the Lights have played so well on the road, Carroll was a little too much for them Saturday night. The Saints exploded for 38 first-half points and led MSU-N by 12 at the break. Northern’s offense rallied in the second half, and with under 10 minutes to play, the Lights trailed by just five. But in the end, Carroll senior Zach Taylor carried the short-handed Saints down the stretch, and they held on for their third win over the Lights in the last two months.

Taylor and fellow senior Ryan Imhoff combined for 39 points for Carroll, which is alone in first in the Frontier standings, Havre Blue Pony Dane Warp scored five for Saints, one night after he poured in a career-high 24 points against UGF.

Northern, which was held to just six 3-pointers by a stingy Carroll defense, got 15 points and seven rebounds from Ryan Reeves, while Tyler Chandler added 12 and David Straughter scored 11 and grabbed seven boards.

"Despite not playing our best, we still put ourselves in position to beat a very good Carroll team, on their home floor," MSU-N head coach Shawn Huse said. "We missed a wide open three to make it a one-point game with two minutes remaining, which was a remarkable effort considering we were down big and had to claw back from way behind. Our guys kept battling and fighting and I was very proud of them for that. No time to hang our heads over it as we have two big regular season games left and the potential of some great postseason opportunities. Our guys did a fantastic job on this six-game road swing and now it's time to move forward."

MSU-N has two big home games left. The Lights host nationally ranked UM-Western Friday night, then, MSU-N goes for a three-game sweep of Rocky Mountain College when the Lights celebrate senior night Saturday.

Skylights 54, Carroll 45

Northern 13 10 17 14 – 54

Carroll 7 6 9 23 – 45

MSU-N - Cydney Auzenne 4-8 0-1 11, Molly Kreycik 4-7 4-4 12, Natalee Faupel 6-13 4-6 16, Peyton Filius 1-2 0-0 2, Jacy Thompson 0-4 4-4 4, Katie Fertterer 0-2 2-2 2, Sierra Richards 3-8 1-4 7. Totals 18-44 15-21 54.

CC - Bailey PASTA 2-10 3-4 8, Mikaela OLSON 1-1 0-0 3, Michaela DOWDY 5-5 0-1 10, Cassidy HASHLEY 4-7 1-2 9, Baylee WATSON 1-6 0-0 3, Hannah DEAN 1-6 0-0 2, Julie CAPUTO 2-4 1-2 6, Sara CHALICH 1-6 0-0 2, Brittney JOHNSON 0-1 0-0 0, Mikaela ROBINSON 0-0 0-0 0, Oona HARRINGTON 0-1 0-0 0, Taylor SALONEN 1-3 0-0 2. Totals 18-50 5-9 45.

3-pt FG: Montana State-Northern 3-10 (Auzenne 3-6, Kreycik 0-1, Filius 0-1, Thompson 0-1, Fertterer 0-1), Carroll College 4-12 (PASTA 1-5, OLSON 1-1, WATSON 1-3, CAPUTO 1-2, CHALICH 0-1). Rebounds: Montana State-Northern 30 (Faupel 10), Carroll College 30 (HASHLEY 8). Fouls Montana State-Northern 14, Carroll College 21. Fouled out: none.

Carroll 68, Lights 60

MSU-N - Kevin Oberweiser 0-0 0-0 0, Dylan Tatarka 1-7 0-0 3, Seth Christiaens 0-0 0-0 0, Ryan Reeves 7-7 1-3 15, William Walker 2-2 0-0 4, Tyler Chandler 4-8 2-4 12, Justin Dunsmore 1-1 2-2 5, David Straughter 4-7 2-2 11, Badhasa Margarsa 0-4 1-3 1, Charles Porter 1-2 0-0 2, Devin Bray 0-2 2-3 2, Adam Huse 0-1 0-0 0, Cameron Epps 1-6 2-2 5. Totals 21-47 12-19 60.

CC - Dane WARP 1-3 3-3 5, Lorel JOHNSON 1-3 0-0 2, Zach TAYLOR 7-14 6-6 21, Kyle NICKOL 1-2 0-0 3, Matt WYMAN 5-7 5-6 15, Ife KALEJAIYE 1-2 2-2 4, Ryan IMHOFF 7-13 4-8 18, Alejandro SANTOS PIQUERAS 0-1 0-0 0, Steven HELM 0-0 0-0 0. Totals 23-45 20-25 68.

Halftime: Carroll 38, Northern 26. -pt FG:Montana State-Northern 6-20 (Tatarka 1-5, Chandler 2-4, Dunsmore 1-1, Straughter 1-2, Margarsa 0-2, Porter 0-1, Bray 0-2, Huse 0-1, Epps 1-2), Carroll College 2-7 (JOHNSON 0-1, TAYLOR 1-3, NICKOL 1-2, IMHOFF 0-1). Rebounds: Montana State-Northern 32 (Chandler 9), Carroll College 24 (TAYLOR 5). Fouls Montana State-Northern 20, Carroll College 17. Fouled out: Straughter.