Third time is a charm for Skylights

In two games against the nationally ranked Lewis-Clark State Warriors this season, the Montana State University-Northern Skylights had LCSC all but beat. Only, they didn't, as LCSC stormed back to beat Northern last month in Havre, and again in Lewiston, Idaho.

Friday night in the Armory Gymnasium, Northern found itself in the same situation for the third time. The Skylights led 17th-ranked LCSC by as many as 18 points, but could only watch as the Warriors stormed back to cut Northern's lead to one point with :13 left. This time, however, the Skylights made it across the finish line.

In a dramatic ending, Northern's Peyton Kehr sank two clutch free throws with :09 left, and while LCSC scored once more, the Skylights held on for a 51-50 win.

"We knew LC wouldn't go away," Northern head coach Chris Mouat said. "They shoot it too well, they pressure the ball so well in those situations, and they do a great job of taking advantage of mistakes. And they did exactly that tonight. The last eight minutes wasn't what we would have liked, being up as big as we were. But the end result is what matters, and our kids, fortunately, found a way to finish the game off. I thought Peyton Kehr's two free throws were huge, and our defensive possession after that. Those were big moments for us."

The finish was indeed scary for Northern, but, for most of the game, the Skylights simply dominated the Warriors.

Kehr opened the game with a layup, and the Skylights would never trail. Gokce Aslan hit two 3-pointers to boost MSU-N to a 15-11 lead at the end of the first quarter, and the combination of Sabin Keo and Allix Goldhahn sparked a 12-0 Northern run in the second stanza, which eventually led to a 29-17 halftime lead for the Skylights.

"Our kids came out with great energy, they were ready to go," Mouat said. "I thought we were really good defensively for much fo the game, and we got into a nice rhythm offensively, and against LC's defensive pressure, that's not easy to do."

Things got even better for Northern in the third. Aslan hit her third triple with 5:28 to go in the period, and the Skylights led 38-20, while Keo finished the quarter with a layup to give MSU-N a commanding 15-point lead with 10 minutes left.

That, however, is when things got complicated. Northern still led 35-20 with six minutes left, but when Jocelyn Blackman scored in the paint, it started a 12-1 LC run before Sydney Hovde stemmed the tide. At that point, the Skylights still led 46-37 with 2:54 left, and MSU-N was still ahead 10 with a minute to go. But the Warriors hit three threes in a span of fewer than 40 seconds, the last of which made it 49-48 before Kehr calmly sank the final two free throws.

And free throws would be big because the Skylights didn't connect on a field goal for the final eight minutes of the game, as LC outscored Northern 25-11 in the closing stretch. And yet, MSU-N dug deep defensively, holding LC State to just 29 percent shooting, despite the fourth-quarter rally. LCSC also shot just 8-of-36 from three, while also committing 14 turnovers as Northern's defense was outstanding for much of the night.

"I'm happy for our kids," Mouat said. "We had two close calls against them (Warriors) and they got away from us. So our kids really wanted this one. So I'm proud of them for getting this one tonight."

Mouat should be proud. His team once again showed why it is much, much better than its record shows, and on top of that, the Skylights finally got over the hump against the Warriors, after leading LC late in the fourth quarter of both of their two previous meetings.

Aslan and Hovde led Northern with 13 points each, while Kehr added nine, and the Skylights hung tough on the boards against an LCSC team that leads the Frontier in rebounding.

"I thought G (Aslan) did a great job for us tonight," Mouat said. "I thought we had a bunch of kids really step up and make big plays. It was a great, team effort.

"And the end result is big for us," he continued. "The last eight minutes, there's a lot to fix, but the end result is what matters, and that's another win over a very good Top 25 Frontier Conference team. And that's big for us."

NAIA power Western sweeps Skylights

Following the dramatic upset over LC State Friday night, the Skylights were looking to pull a similar feat Saturday night against UM-Western, the fourth-ranked team in the NAIA.

However, despite staying competitive throughout, MSU-N simply couldn't keep up with the Bulldogs, who shot 59 percent from the field for the game and 75 percent from the field in the first half of a 66-48 victory.

"Western came out and shot the ball extremely well," Mouat said. "I thought at times we defended well and at times we broke down. When we broke down they took advantage of it every time. They were very complete (Saturday night)."

Early on, the Skylights showed no fear against the Bulldogs and got 3-pointers from Peyton Kehr and Allix Goldhahn to keep Northern within striking distance. But thanks to a 6-of-8 shooting effort in the opening stanza, Western grabbed an 18-10 lead.

Northern crept closer in the second quarter as a 7-3 run by the Skylights, one that was capped by a 3-pointer from Tiara Gilham, got them within four points at 21-17 with six minutes left before half. Western responded with a 10-4 run of its own to go back up 10, yet a second trey from Kehr kept the Skylights within striking distance before a late triple by Shannon Worster of the Bulldogs helped to give them a 36-24 advantage at intermission.

In the second half, Western enhanced its grip on the lead with a 5-0 run to open the third quarter and suddenly the advantage was 17 points. Brianna King also started heating up and after netting just five in the first half, she scored 11 in the second half, including some key jumpers in the third, pushing the lead to 51-34 after three.

"We decided to go man and we had chased King around pretty hard in the first half," Mouat said. "But when those other weapons start shooting like that, and you leave them, they are dangerous. You have to give credit to them, they played really well."

Sydney Hovde did her absolute best to keep the Skylights in the game in the second half and she contributed with 13 points and nine rebounds on her way to a double-double with team highs in both categories as she finished with 15 points and 11 rebounds.

"Sydney really played well for us, especially in that second half," Mouat said. "That was a great night for her. She played her butt off and I was really proud of her effort."

Even with that, the Skylights never threated in the fourth quarter of an 18-point loss. King led the Bulldogs with 16 points while Savanna Bignell added 12, on a 4-of-4 effort from 3-point range. Cierra Lamey had 10 and Britt Cooper finished with five. Peyton Kehr was the other Skylight to finish in double figures with 13.

The Skylights (13-17, 5-13) will head to Rocky Mountain College for the first round of the Frontier Conference tournament. Sixth-seeded Northern will play Rocky, the No. 3 seed on the road. Montana Tech, the seventh seed will play at second-seeded Carroll College and fifth-seeded Providence will head to fourth-seeded LC State. Western, as the Frontier regular-season champion earned a bye into the semifinals.

Skylights finish 5-13 in Frontier, 13-17 overall; Next Up: at RMC Tuesday

Skylights 51, LC State 50

Lewis-Clark State 11 6 8 25 - 50

MSU-Northern 15 14 11 11 - 51

LCSC - Hailey Turner 3-8 1-2 7, Abbie Johnson 3-7 0-0 8, Jossliyn Blackman 5-10 3-4 13, Cali Moscrip 3-13 0-0 9, Peyton Souvenir 1-8 0-0 3, Jamie Nielson 3-4 0-0 8. Totals: 19-64 6-14.

MSU-N - Sydney Hovde 4-11 5-8 13, Tiara Gilham 2-5 0-0 4, Gokce Aslan 4-11 2-4 13, Allix Goldhahn 1-6 3-6 6, Peyton Kehr 3-8 3-3 9, Sabin Keo 2-4 0-2 4, Petra Sellin 0-0 0-0 0, Jessica Curl 0-1 0-0 0, Hailey Nicholson 0-5 2-2 2, Lily Hilderbrand 0-0 0-0 0. Totals: 16-51 15-25.

3-pointers: LCSC 8-36 (Moscrip 3, Souvenir 1, Nielson 2), MSU-N 4-14 (Aslan 3, Goldhahn 1). Rebounds: LCSC 36 (Blackman 10), MSU-N 35 (Hovde 9). Fouls: LCSC 21, MSU-N 10. Fouled out: Burlage.

Western 66, Skylights 48

Western 18 18 15 15 - 66

MSU-Northern 10 14 10 14 - 48

UMW - Britt Cooper 5-11 0-2 10, Cierra Lamey 3-4 3-3 11, Paige Holmes 3-4 0-0 6, Brianna King 7-10 0-0 16, Tori Anderson 1-2 2-2 4, Brandy Bookout 0-3 0-0 0, Shannon Worster 3-4 0-0 7, Savana Bignell 4-5 4-4 12, Darby Schye 0-1 0-0. Totals: 26-44 20-24 66.

MSU-N - Jessica Curl 1-4 0-1 2, Lily Hilderbrand 0-1 1-1 1, Gokce Aslan 2-9 1-2 5, Allix Goldhahn 2-9 1-2 5, Peyton Kehr 5-9 1-1 13, Sabin Keo 2-4 0-2 4, Sydney Hovde 7-11 1-2 15, Tiara Gilahm 1-7 1-2 3. Totals: 20-54 4-10 48.

3-pointers: UMW 9-17 (Lamey 2, ing 2, Bignell 4, Worster 1); MSU-N 4-20 (Kehr 2, Goldhahn 1, Gilham 1). Rebounds: UMW 24 (Cooper 5), MSU-N 21 (Hovde 11) Fouls: UMW 12, MSU-N 8. Fouled out -- none.

Final Frontier Women's Standings

All Conf.

W-L W-L

Montana Western 24-3 15-3

Carroll College 22-7 14-4

Rocky Mountain College 19-11 10-8

LC State 19-10 9-9

Providence 18-12 7-11

MSU-Northern 13-17 5-13

Montana Tech 13-16 3-15

Frontier Playoffs

Tuesday, Feb. 26

#1 Western Bye

# 7 Montana Tech at #2 Carroll College

#6 MSU-Northern at #3 Rocky Mountain

#5 Providence at #4 Lewis and Clark State