Skylights hope to keep momentum going at Top 25 rivals Montana Western, LC State

The Montana Western Bulldogs are one of the best teams in all of NAIA women’s basketball. And the Montana State University-Northern Skylights have to play them for a second time in just 14 days.

When Northern (1-5, 9-9) heads to Dillon tonight to play the third-ranked Bulldogs (5-1, 14-1), it will start a five-game road swing for the Skylights. And while MSU-N was thumped by Western back on Jan. 4 in the Armory Gymnasium, the Skylights have a lot of confidence going into tonight’s rematch.

That’s because Northern is fresh off its first win in league play, a thrilling overtime victory over Montana Tech Saturday night. Before that, the Skylights also came within seconds of knocking off nationally ranked Lewis-Clark State and Providence, so, to say MSU-N is playing better since its bitter loss to Western would be an understatement.

“I think you see the growth,” Northern head coach Chris Mouat said after Saturday’s win against the Orediggers. “We’re getting better. We’re growing.”

The Skylights are getting better, and they’re becoming a much deeper team thanks to the return of forwards Hailey Nicholson and Tiara Gilham, who both missed more than two months with injuries. With that pair back in the lineup, the Skylights have a deeper bench, and they’ve been much better defensively. Northern is allowing just 56 ppg in conference play, and just 51 ppg in the last three outings.

Of course, the Skylights know their defense will have to be stellar tonight in Dillon. Western leads the Frontier in scoring, and has All-American Brianna King, and a host of talented weapons around her. King dropped 26 points on the Skylights the last time out, and as good as Western is offensively, the Dawgs are even better defensively, as they lead the NAIA in scoring defense.

“Western is one of the best teams in the country and they have played at an extremely high level all season long,” Mouat said. “With all five starters back from their Final 4 run a year ago, they have a ton of experience. They also have one of the best (if not the best) players in the country in Bri King. She can do it all and makes them very dangerous. Western is very, very good defensively, and they are potent on the offensive end. They are just a very complete team who takes advantage of your mistakes.”

Indeed, the Bulldogs are as good as anyone the Skylights have faced, and will face, this winter. But the road trip doesn’t get any easier once Northern leaves Dillon.

Saturday afternoon, MSU-N will be in Lewiston, Idaho, for a rematch with the No. 18 Lewis-Clark State Warriors (3-3, 13-4). Northern took LCSC down the wire two weeks ago in Havre and had a chance to send the game into overtime on the last play. But the Warriors held on, and with a huge front line led by Jossilyn Blackman and Hailey Turner and a stingy defense, Mouat knows another game against the Warriors will be daunting.

“Lewis-Clark State has a ton of size and depth,” Mouat said. “They are playing a lot of kids and they are very talented. They are playing very fast and getting shots up in a hurry, so defensive transition will again be big for us. We also have to keep them off of the boards because they keep a lot of possessions alive at the offensive end. I expect them to continue to bring full-court pressure at us for 40 minutes.”

As tough as the Warriors are, the Skylights’ near miss against them in Havre is what started Northern’s recent run of strong play. And the Skylights — led by Peyton Kehr’s 14 ppg, as well as the continuing excellent play of point guard Gokce Aslan and the dangerous 3-point shooting of Allix Goldhahn — are hoping that strong play continues on the road this weekend and beyond.

“This is a tough trip against two nationally ranked opponents,” Mouat said. “In both games, it is vital that we take care of the ball and that we are attacking on the offensive end. Against both teams, we didn’t generate enough offense the first time around. Both are sound defensive teams and both bring pressure in different ways, and both are very good on the boards. Executing at a high level is important for us, and limiting Western and LC to one shot at the offensive end will be a major focus. These are two tough teams with great players.”

Tonight’s game between the Skylights and Bulldogs tips at 5:30 in Dillon. Saturday’s game between Northern and LCSC gets underway at 2 p.m. in Lewiston, Idaho.