Skylights face NCAA DII Minot State in home debut

Three games into a very young season, the Montana State University-Northern Skylights, who are a young team themselves, are a perfect 3-0. And while that won't change this weekend, things are about to get much tougher for Northern.

In a rare Sunday matinee, the Skylights will make their home debut when they host NCAA Division II Minot State University inside the Armory Gymnasium. The game is an exhibition game for Northern, so it won't count toward the Skylight's record. But, make no mistake, that doesn't mean the Skylights, and head coach Chris Mouat are taking the Beavers for granted.

MSU, an old NAIA rival of the Skylights, comes to Havre playing its official season-opener. The Beavers are 1-1 in exhibition games this season, but, Sunday's tilt will count for them, so, in other words, it's a big game.

"We're going to get their very best shot," Mouat said of MSU. "They're really well coached, they play extremely hard, they're very physical and they really get into you defensively. So we're really going to have to execute our stuff at a high level."

No question the Skylights, who are once again going through some injury problems, will have to play sharp, especially since this is Northern's official home-opener. And from how Northern has started the season, playing well shouldn't be an issue.

MSU-N has beaten CIS power Mount Royal of Canada, as well as Cascade Conference foes Northwest University of and Northwest Christian already this season, all on the road. The Skylights have done it by gutting out close games, playing hard-nosed defense, and getting sparks from a bevy of young players and newcomers.

New point guard Gokce Aslan, red-shirt freshman Allix Goldhahn, transfer forward Sydney Hovde, sophomore shooter Peyton Kehr, transfer guard Sam Caruth and star forward Hailey Nicholson have all provided double-digit scoring at one point or another this season for the Skylights.

And while Northern may be without a couple of key pieces for Sundayt's game, the Skylights do get back one important cog in 6-3 forward Jessica Curl. Curl has spent the fall playing volleyball for MSU-N, but, she's set to make her basketball debut against Minot State.

"We're defintiely missing some kids, we're short-handed again," Mouat said. "But, that's also an opportunity for some other kids to step into those roles and show us they're ready for them. We've had a great week of practice, our kids are working hard, and we're going to go out there and make the most of this opportunity."

Sunday's game will be a good test for the Skylights, but it's also an important one because of Northern's upcoming schedule. The Skylights go right back on the road next weekend, playing two tough games in Great Falls, then traveling to rival Dickinson State on Nov. 20. From there, Northern stays on the road to open Frontier Conference play at Rocky Mountain College Nov. 29 and Carroll College Dec. 1. All of those games come before Northern finally gets to play at home again on Dec. 4., and that makes Sunday's game vitally important for the Skylights.

"We're treating this game no different than we would a regular season game," Mouat said. "We're playing an NCAA team that is talented, tough and very physical. So we have to match that. We're esctied about the opportunity to go out and make a statement on our home floor."

Sunday's game between Northern and Minot State will tip off at 6 p.m. inside the Armory Gymnasium.