Tale of Two Seasons for Skylights

The basketball season is always a special time for the Hi-Line, especially when it comes to the collegiate level. College basketball has been known to bring about exciting, intense and captivating moments that leave lasting impressions on the team, fans and community.

But sometimes, unexpected things happen.

In the case of the Montana State University-Northern Skylights women's basketball team, the unexpected came suddenly and hit the Skylights like a truck. With the start that the Skylights had in the 2019-20 season, it seems crazy how it all ended, losing 12 straight, dropping out of the first round of the Frontier Conference playoffs and ending the season with a 15-16 overall record.

MSU-Northern head coach Chris Mouat remembers just how much the season turned around in an instant.

"We didn't finish the season the way we wanted to," Mouat said. "Losing the games down the stretch was difficult for us. That being said, without making excuses, there were reasons for that. We were dealt a lot of adversity throughout the year with losing McKenzie (Gunter), then Hailey (Nicholson) and Tiara Gilham to season-ending injuries. Those three are key pieces to our team. To miss those 35 or 36 games in the year was a huge blow."

Gunter, Nicholson and Gilham helped make a huge impact on the first half of the season. Starting off the year with a 14-1 record, with a ranking as high as No. 11 in the country and a defense that led the NAIA in many categories through December, Northern posted early wins against out-of-conference challengers like highly ranked Vanguard, Corban, Dickinson State and Mount Royal, then opened Frontier play with a pair of wins over the University of Montana Western and Rocky Mountain College.

The only loss that the Skylights carried at that time was against high-ranked Bethel University out of Phoenix, which came down to a buzzer beater at the Phoenix Frontier Challenge back in December of 2019. Add a pair of wins over the University of Alberta-Augustana in the Armory Gymnasium and Northern was on a roll to a great season.

Losses to Carroll College, the University of Providence and Lewis-Clark State College hit hard, but the Skylights bounced back with wins over Montana Tech and the Fighting Saints in a rematch. But that's where the injuries to the team hit Northern hard and started the chain reaction of a 12-loss streak and a heart-wrenching end to what had looked like an incredible season.

Even with the crushing end to the year, Mouat still looks back and sees the positives that came out of the season.

"We were basically a tale of two seasons if you look at how things went for us," Mouat said. "We got off to a 14-1 start, we were ranked as high as 11th in the country, were playing extremely well and the only loss we had at the time was to the eventual No. 6 team in the country, Bethel out of Phoenix. I thought we played at a high level and we dodged a lot of bullets. I thought that start to the season was special."

But there was another big win that the Skylights put up early in the season, as well. With the Armory packed and the atmosphere brimming with excitement, Northern put on a show against Vanguard University, a team that has brought the power for years. The Skylights won that game 68-56 and made a statement on just how tough the team could be on the hardwood.

And Mouat looked back on that win, as well as just how much his team stood out, despite the hardship that hit them.

"Another highlight would have to be beating Vanguard at home," Mouat said. "Vanguard is a perennial top-five, top-10 team and I think we handled them by 12 when we played them at home. They finished the season ranked seventh in the country, so that was a big win. But, throughout all of our schedule I think we had seven wins over teams who were national tournament qualifiers. A lot of teams that qualified for the tournament at our level can't say that. We had some real signature wins."

Along with Nicholson, Gilham and Gunter, despite their injuries, many other players for the Skylights put up some great stats.

Nicholson was leading the Frontier in blocks and had been a defensive force until she got hurt. Gunter was Northern's leading scorer when healthy, and Gilham was easily the best player to come off the bench in the Frontier.

Add to those three, the stellar play of Peyton Kehr and Sydney Hovde, as well as a breakout performance from Allix Goldhahn, and the Skylights had a lot of contributors, including the consistent play of newcomer Kenya Lorton, too.

Young players on Northern's roster also gained valuable experience because their roles increased as the injuries mounted.

And while the season didn't play out how the Skylights hoped, MSU-N must press on.

Normally, Mouat and his staff would usually go about the process of recruiting, but there is one big problem. With the COVID-19 concern lingering, Mouat and his staff have had to switch over from a normal recruiting process to a purely online system.

And Mouat explained what the new process entails, as well as just how much the coronavirus has affected the normal recruiting system.

"I think we're all in a position right now with the coronavirus where we have to be creative," Mouat said. "Everything's different right now. We've gone to a lot more communication through the telephone. It is a lot more phone time. That is the biggest thing, rather than get a kid here and have them see Havre, the campus, meet some people, meet the team, and play with the team. We are not able to do that and we are not alone in that. Everybody is in the same boat right now. We are trying to do the best we can."

And that's what the Skylights did through a tumultuous season, fillwed with huge wins, and devestating setbacks. They still did their best, and there's no doubt Mouat and his program will do whatever is needed to rebound when next winter rolls around.