IT'S GAMETIME IN BILLINGS

Making the NAIA Women’s Basketball National Tournament is the goal for all 95 schools that play Division I basketball. However, just 32 teams achieve that goal and one of them is the Montana State University-Northern Skylights.

The Skylights (24-8), who finished second in the Frontier Conference in both the regular season and the conference tournament, received an at-large berth into the field and will play their first game tonight against No. 22 and sixth-seeded Loyola of New Orleans (26-6). Tip-off time inside the Rimrock Auto Arena at the Metra is set for 8.

“Last year’s loss at the national tournament was motivation going into this season,” Northern head coach Chris Mouat said. “That game was tough, and that team went on to the Final Four. So that was the motivation going into the season. It made the kids want to work hard enough to get back here again. I think now, though, it’s the LC (Frontier championship) game that has left a bad taste in their mouths. That second half, we were not at our best, and now they get a chance to do something about it.”

The loss Mouat is talking about came March 6 against Lewis and Clark State, the second-ranked team in the country. Northern, which lost to the Warriors four times during the season, shot less than 30 percent from the field and lost a lead late with the chance to pull the upset.

However, the Skylights offensive woes haven’t been limited to the Frontier Championship game. MSU-N, which scored just 50 in that loss, also scored just 44 points in a win over the University of Montana Western in the Frontier semis. While the Skylights averaged 62.2 points per game through the season, they have been held under 60 in 10 of their last 11 games.

“The last five or six games, we haven’t shot it as well as we’re capable of,” Mouat said. “The 3-point shot, the foul line, and missing bunnies, those things have hurt us at times, even in some of our wins. So we have to shoot it better for sure. We’ve got to execute, run our stuff and make shots.”

If the Skylights are going to find their groove offensively, it will likely be on the back of All-American and 2016 Frontier Conference Player of the Year Natalee Faupel, who averaged 17.5 points and 7.5 rebounds per game for MSU-N this season. The other player who will need to come up big offensively for Northern is Sierra Richards, the post, who averaged 10.3 points and 8.1 boards.

Jacy Thompson, the Skylights third-leading scorer at 9.9 PPG, Molly Kreycik, who averages 7.6 points and 3.6 assists, as well as Cydney Auzenne, who averaged 4.9 points and 4.5 rebounds will also be key contributors.

“We’ve got to find ways to generate points on the block with (Sierra and Natalee),” Mouat said. “Even with their (Wolfpack) length inside, we’ve got to get the ball in there to help free up some of our other stuff. But overall, we’ve got to execute and make shots. At this point, it really does come down to that.”

While the Skylights will need to play well offensively to win, their bread and butter under Mouat, has always been defense. That was true again this season as Northern held opponents to just 53.6 points per game, which was fourth-best in the NAIA. That defensive prowess will prove critical as MSU-N attempts to slow down Loyola, the 10th-best scoring offense in the country (77.2 ppg).

Rebounding will also be incredibly important. The Skylights are the third-best defensive rebounding team in the country with 30.6 per game, but Loyola is the top rebounding team in the country (48.4 rpg) and the 10th-best team when it comes to offensive rebounds (16.3).

“Rebounding and defense, that’s who we are,” Mouat said. “On the other end of the floor, we have to put the ball in the hole. We have to shoot better, make our free throws and do the little things that will give us a chance to win the game in the fourth quarter.”

The Wolfpack are strong offensively due to a number of different options. Zoie Miller is the team’s leading scorer (13.4 ppg) but their most dynamic offensive weapon may be Meghan Temple (12.9 ppg, 9.6 rpg). Even though Temple isn’t the Wolfpack’s top scorer, she shoots 53 percent from the field and grabs 4.1 offensive boards per outing, the fifth-best mark in the nation.

Loyola may want to push the ball inside, but it also has some stellar outside shooters as well. Miller made 46-percent of her 3-point attempts during the season. Paige Franckiewicz (9.7 ppg) is also a 39-percent shooter from deep and made a team-high 82 triples during the regular season for the Southern States Athletic Conference Champion.

“We have to do what we do best, we have to stay who we are,” Mouat said. “We have a lot of belief in what we do. The kids trust each other, and I have a lot of trust in them. At the end of the day, we have to play the way we play and do the things that got us there.”

Auzenne, a veteran player for the Skylights agreed.

“We have to execute,” Auzenne said. “Coach (Mouat) will come up with a great game plan for us. He’ll have us really well prepared. It’s our job to go out and execute it.”

The Skylights, who finished the regular season as the No. 11 team in the NAIA, know a thing or two about making a run at the national tournament, especially after winning consecutive games back in 2015. However, as Mouat and his team also learned last season, it only takes one off day; one loss, to be eliminated.

“All we’re focused on is finding a way to win one,” Mouat said. “Winning that first one is all that matters. That’s been their goal all along, to keep playing basketball. To win and move on in the national tournament. Now they have that opportunity, so, we’re going down there to put our best foot forward, to play as well as we can and leave it all on the table. And they’re excited to go do that.”

The Skylights and Wolfpack will tip things off tonight at 8 inside the Rimrock Auto Arena at the Metra in Billings. If Northern wins, it will play Friday night at 9:45 p.m. against either second-seeded Vanguard or seventh-seeded Lindenwood-Bellville.

No. 11 Skylights vs No. 22 Loyola

tonight at 8 in NAIA 1st Round

at Rimrock Auto Arena in Billings

Radio: 92.5 KPQX

Streaming: naia.org

Twitter: HavreDaily