Skylights hope to break out against ranked Bears, Saints

There's no denying, the Montana State University-Northern Skylights are in a slump right now. And, breaking out of that slump is not going to be easy, considering what lies ahead.

Northern (1-9, 9-12) has lost eight straight Frontier Conference games, and if this weekend is to be the one where the Skylights turn it around, they'll have to do it at a pair of first-place teams. Tonight, the Skylights are in Billings to battle No. 15 Rocky Mountain College (7-3, 17-3), then they travel to Helena Saturday to face Carroll College (7-3, 15-6), which has surged to No. 13 in the newest NAIA Coaches Poll.

"Rocky and Carroll both pose big challenges," MSU-N head coach Chris Mouat said. "They are playing as well as anyone in the league, if not in the country at this point.  Both are nationally-ranked and at the top of the league standings."

Indeed. The Skylights split with the Battlin' Bears and Fighting Saints back in December in Havre. Northern beat Carroll one night after falling to RMC. But, a lot has happened in the Frontier Conference since those games, including the Skylights being riddled with injuries, none more devastating than the loss of senior All-American Jacy Thompson to a season-ending knee injury.

And while MSU-N has continued to battle, with senior Brandy Lambourne and junior Peyton Filius combining to score 24 points per game, as well as Shiloh McCormick returning from injury to have a big impact, the Skylights haven't been able to get over the hump in Frontier play since beating the Saints back on Dec. 3.

"We need to simply focus on us at this point," Mouat said. "We have a lot of correctable errors that have been hurting us, and things we can immediately improve on.  Our goal is to play a complete 40 minutes in Billings and Helena.  We know that both teams are very, very good and that it will take a complete effort in both games to put ourselves in a position to be successful."

Neither Rocky or Carroll will make being successful easy on the Skylights.

The Bears have had a remarkable turnaround this season, and have catapulted themselves to the top of the Frontier, thanks to great play from Brooke and Mikayla Jones, who combine to score 23 points per night. Head coach Wes Keller's team also has depth and size, and they present a ton of matchup problems for the short-handed Skylights.

"Rocky is probably the most athletic team in the league," Mouat said. "They have size and excellent perimeter players, and they are the top defense in the nation right now.  They can hurt you in a lot of ways.  I also think their depth is a big factor.  They are bringing some very good kids off of the bench who contribute in big ways for them. 

"Mikayla Jones had a really good game against us here and is a very explosive guard, and Hailee Farstveet does an excellent job at the point for them," he continued. "She is a taller, longer guard who creates matchup problems because of her ability to score at the rim and from the 3-point line.  Alecia Chamberlain is kind of a do-it-all kid for them.  She is, in my mind, their top defender and can guard perimeter players as well as posts.  She has also had some really good offensive games for them.  Inside, they have three kids who are all doing good things and producing on the block.  Ebony Jackson, Markaela Francis, and Brooke Jones help form what I believe are one of the better post lineups in our league.  They simply have a lot of weapons and are very sound on the defensive end and on the boards."

Carroll is another strong, athletic team, but one the Skylights also bested in the Armory on the Frontier's opening weekend. Still, with stars like Bailey Pasta, Hannah Dean, and the excellent play of freshman Dani Wagner, the Saints are trending upward, and will present another big test for the Skylights Saturday night.

"Carroll is also playing well and has some big wins in both conference and non-conference," Mouat said. "Their 1-2 punch inside makes them really tough.  Hannah Dean and Michaela Dowdy are strong, physical posts who can score in bunches, and they are both constant threats on the offensive boards.  They, too, have a lot of depth and kids coming in doing good things for them off of the bench.  Bailey Pasta is an excellent point guard who can really shoot it, but also does a great job running their stuff.  They have played a lot of different kids at the wing positions including Dani Wagner, who has played really well for them.  Carroll is a pretty complete package.  They have gone to a lot more zone defense this year, and I think it suits them. They defend in it well, and they rebound as well as anyone in the country."

Tonight's game between the Skylights and Bears starts at 5:30 in Billings. It marks the beginning of a four-game road swing for Northern, which includes Saturday night's trip to Carroll, as well as games at UM-Western next Thursday and Lewis-Clark State next Saturday.