Skylights ready to get on track at home

It's been a rough start to the 2021 Frontier Conference women's basketball season for the Montana State University-Northern Skylights.

In just one week, the Skylights suffered four losses between home games against Carroll College and road contests at Montana Western. The good news is, though, the Skylights (0-4, 1-7) get to start all over this weekend, and they get to do it at home.

Saturday night and Sunday, Northern will take on upstart Montana Tech (3-5, 3-5) inside the Armory Gymnasium. Once again, no fans will be allowed into any Frontier Conference basketball games, per the league's COVID-19 restrictions. But, nevertheless, the Skylights are happy to be back home.

"For us, it comes down to doing the little things a heck of a lot better," MSU-N head coach Chris Mouat said. "We need to win on the boards, defend and take care of the basketball. Turnovers really hurt us last weekend. It wasn't just turnovers, it was turnovers for points that killed us. Our kids are giving effort and playing hard, but that isn't always enough. We need to execute at both ends much better. We have played a stretch of games against really good teams (with a combined record of 25-5), and we need to learn from our experiences. It's early, and we just need to keep moving forward."

Moving forward will continue to land on the shoulders of Northern's talented veterans. Senior Peyton Kehr is coming off a huge road trip to Western where she averaged more than 22 points per game against the Bulldogs. Meanwhile, fellow seniors McKenzie Gunter and Tiara Gilham average more than 12 points per game, and Sydney Hovde currently leads the Frontier in rebounding. Allix Goldhahn has also had big moments for the Skylights, and that group will continue to lead the way as Northern's younger players and newcomers, like L'Tia Lawrence, Ryley Kehr, Morgan Mason and Cameron Mooney continue to get their feet wet, and help the Skylights add depth.

And while it's a process for sure, Northern is still hungry to win, and the Skylights hope to start doing that against the Orediggers, who have played more conference games than anyone else in the league.

"Montana Tech is a very talented team and they've picked up some big conference wins," Mouat said. "They are close to having five different kids scoring in double figures and pose some matchup problems for us. They have size, quickness and shooters, and a ton of experience back, including All-American Mesa Williams. She can really do it all and they utilize her in their stuff very well."

Tech is loaded, and in the post Williams and Tavia Rooney combine to average 22 points and 13 rebounds per game. In the backcourt, Mollie Peoples is averaging 10 per night, as is Dani Urick. Brooke Heggie, a 6-1 center, is also scoring 10 points per game for the Orediggers, who are led by former Chester standout Carly (VanDyke) Sannon.

"In addition to their starters, Tech has good depth," Mouat said. "Carly does a really nice job with them and they do a good job mixing defenses and on the boards. They have been playing very well, with wins at Western and home wins against Providence and Rocky."

The Ordiggers are Playing well, but so are the Skylights. Northern's record isn't exactly indicative of how well the Skylights have played, and how close they are to having a completely different look right now. Still, Mouat says they aren't out for moral victories, and he wants to see his team take that next step and get over the hump. The Skylights have that chance this weekend.

Saturday night's game between Northern and Tech will tip at 5 p.m., and the rematch will take place Sunday at 2 p.m. in the Armory. The Skylights are also home to host nationally ranked Providence Wednesday night.