Complete Weekend: Skylights beat Rocky to begin Frontier play undefeated

After a thrilling Frontier Conference win over Montana Western last Thursday in the Armory Gymnasium, the Montana State University-Northern Skylights looked ready for another Frontier challenge against the Rocky Mountain College Battlin' Bears.

And the No. 14 Skylights delivered against RMC Saturday in the Armory, beating the Bears 57-47 in another conference thriller to stay undefeated on the year.

It was an intense night on the court, but Northern faced the heat and came out on top. MSU-N head coach Chris Mouat was glad to see his team perform well against another conference rival in No. 25 RMC.

"We defended," said Mouat. "Rocky's a really good basketball team and they can really score it. They have an All-American post who I have the utmost respect for, as well as a freshman of the year at the point. They got great players around them and I think they showed that tonight."

The Skylights opened the first quarter a little shaky but still kept it close with the Bears. RMC's Destinee Pointer put up several good shots to drive the Bears into the lead, while Peyton Kehr, Hailey Nicholson and Sydney Hovde worked to give Northern a close game. The Skylights were down 16-13 at the end of the first.

The second quarter was still tight between the two teams. Pointer and Antuanisha Wright sunk some key baskets to stay in the game, but Kenya Lorton, Hovde and Tiara Gilham made big plays to push Northern ahead 27-26 at the half. The conference matchup was boiling going into the half.

Pointer was a big weapon for RMC's first half, which led to her racking up 16 points for the team. Mouat was impressed with Pointer's performance against his team.

"Pointer was really good I thought," said Mouat. "She hurt us at times and is a good player."

The second half was a lot more of the boost that Northern needed against the tough Bears team.

Hailey Nicholson and Peyton Kehr assisted in the Skylights' drive to a big lead, while Allix Goldhahn and Gilham made key shots, too. MSU-Northern pushed into the lead at the end of the third 42-36.

But RMC did not go down easily. Mackenzie Dethman became a force for the Bears, driving many times to the basket and making big plays. Pointer and Markaela Francis helped RMC along the way, too. Still, Northern, led by Hailey Nicholson and Hovde, pulled ahead still with many good free throws and baskets. In the end, the Skylights claimed their second Frontier win.

Northern shot well on the night. The Skylights made 35.6-percent of its field goals, 41.2-percent of its threes and 72.7-percent of its free throws. The Skylights had 18 points in the paint, 17 second-chance points and seven points off turnovers, as well.

Nicholson had a consistent game on the court, making many key shots to help keep Northern ahead throughout the match, while Kehr led the way with 14 points and Kenya Lorton added 10.

"It just feels really good that we've improved since last year when we struggled a little," said Nicholson. "Right now, it feels good on the team. Everybody is excited about it."

Overall, Mouat is happy with what stood out in the game.

"Team defense, again," said Mouat. "It sounds like a broken record, but when you give a really good nationally ranked Frontier team 47 points, you're doing something good. Petra Sellin, Reilly Walsh and Morgan Mason really stepped in and shared the duties at the point extremely well."

The Skylights (9-0) are still going strong as an undefeated team and are off to a perfect start in the Frontier. Conference play resumes in January, but the next games at the Phoenix Frontier Challenge Dec. 18-20 in Phoenix, Arizona will continue to test the Skylights as they return to their tough, non-conference schedule.

Skylights are 2-0 in Frontier; Next Up: at Arizona Tournament

Skylights 57, RMC 47

RMC 16 10 10 11 - 47

MSU-Northern 13 14 15 15 - 57

RMC - Mackenzie Dethman 1-7 1-2 5, Destinee Pointer 6-16 1-5 16, Izzy Spruit 3-6 3-6 9, Markaela Francis 2-6 0-0 7, Antuanisha Wright 2-3 1-2 5, Shiloh McCormick 1-2 1-1 3 3, Keahi-lele Roy 1-2 0-0 2. Totals: 16-48 7-21.

MSU-N - Peyton Kehr 5-8 3-4 14, Hailey Nicholson 2-9 0-1 8, Sydney Hovde 3-8 0-0 8, Allix Goldhahn 3-7 1-2 7, Kenya Lorton 4-7 2-3 10, Tiara Gilham 3-14 1-5 8, Reilly Walsh 1-4 0-1 2. Totals:21-59 7-17.

3-pointers: RMC 7-21 (Spruit 3, Pointer 1, Dethman 1, McCormick 1, Wright 1), MSU-N 7-17 (P. Kehr 3, Lorton 2, Goldhahn 1, Gilham 1). Rebounds: RMC 21 (Francis 8, Pointer 3, Dethman 3, Wright 3, Spruit 2, Kloie Thatcher 1, McCormick 1), MSU-N 37 (Hovde 13, H. Nicholson 4, Goldhahn 4, P. Kehr 3, Morgan Mason 3, Gilham 3, Walsh 3). Fouls: RMC 11, MSU-N 9. Fouled out: Peyton Kehr.