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Montana State University-Northern's L'Tia Lawrence goes up for a shot against the University of Providence defense Wednesday night in the Armory Gymnasium. Lawrence scored a team-high 15 points, but the Skylights fell to the Argos. The men's game between Northern and UP was canceled because of COVID-19 issues with the Argos.
Northern's Ryley Kehr, right, tries to shoot during Wednesday night's game in the Armory.
McKenzie Gunter shoots during Wednesday night's game against the Argos.
Sydney Hovde looks to score during Wednesday night's game against the Argos.
Peyton Kehr drives the ball during Wednesday night's game against the Argos.
The Montana State University-Northern Skylights were looking to start a winning streak in their home gym, as they continue a five-game home stand. But the University of Providence Argos were having none of it.
In a Frontier Conference rivalry game Wednesday night in the Armory Gymnasium, the Argos came out swinging and never let up as they blasted the Skylights, 73-57.
"The first quarter was huge for them, and horrible for us," Northern head coach Chris Mouat said. "They came out and hit shots and opened up a big lead, and we turned the ball over and missed a lot of good shots early. So that's unacceptable. We have to be better than that."
It was a tough start indeed.
UP hit a pair of 3-pointers in the first minute, and Emilee Maldonado hit another five minutes in as the Argos led 14-5 early on. Kerstyn Pimperton also got into the act from downtown, as she nailed a triple as part of a 12-0 UP run that pushed the Argos to a 20-5 lead after the first period.
Northern did offer a response in the second stanza as Peyton Kehr hit an early bucket, Tiara Gilham scored twice from the inside and L'Tia Lawrence gave the Skylights nice minutes off the bench, including making three free throws to end the half, and Northern closed the gap to 32-20.
"We never fully recovered from the first quarter," Mouat said. "We never really got any momentum or anything good going. We dug our heels in in the second quarter there, but then they ended on a little run, and we were still in a huge hole."
The Skylights did have some moments in the second and fourth quarters, but it seemed as though it was too little too late for the Skylights.
UP All-American Parker Esary dominated the third quarter, while the Argos kept making three's, as well. And though Ryley Kehr and Dulci Skunkcap continued to give Northern some much-needed bench points, it wasn't enough to slow the Argos down as they led 55-36 after the third quarter,. And only increased that lead throughout the fourth, in what ended up being a dominant win by head coach Bill Himmelberg's club.
UP's dominance included a 52-percent shooting performance, going 10-of-24 from three, forcing 17 turnovers and out-rebounding the Skylights 33-24. Esary finished with 23 points and 12 rebounds, while Maldonado added 18.
On the other end, Northern shot just 34 percent and made just one 3-pointer in 18 attempts. Lawrence paced Northern with 15 points, while Ryley Kehr had 10. Gilham also scored 13 points for the Skylights, who fell to 1-6 in the Frontier.
"Parker and Emilee were amazing tonight," Mouat said. "And as a team, they shot it really well, they rebounded it really well, and we didn't. We shot ourselves in the foot too many times. Providence is a very talented team, really good, and they played really good tonight. But we also need to look in the mirror. We didn't play anywhere near where we are capable of. We got some nice lifts from our bench. Those kids came in and did a good job. But overall this was a gut-check for us. We have to learn from this in a hurry and come ready to play this weekend."
It will be a short turnaround for the Skylights, who will play Rocky Mountain College Saturday night and Sunday afternoon in the Armory.
Skylights are 1-6 in Frontier, 2-10 overall; Next: vs RMC Saturday-Sunday
Providence 73, Skylights 57
Providence 20 12 23 18 - 73
MSU-Northern 5 15 16 21 - 57
UP - Maddy Dixon 2-6 0-0 5, Emilee Maldonado 7-8 1-2 18, Reed Hazard 3-6 0-0 7, Kennedy Cartwright 2-8 0-0 6, Parker Esary 11-14 1-2 23, Brittany White 1-1 0-0 2, Sam Holman 1-2 0-0 2, Brooklyn Harn 0-4 1-2 1, Kerstyn Pimperton 2-6 2-2 8. Totals: 29-56 5-9.
MSU-N - Sydney Hovde 1-4 0-0 2, Tiara Gilham 2-9 9-11 13, Allix Goldhahn 1-4 0-0 3, McKenzie Gunter 0-9 0-0 0, Peyton Kehr 4-9 0-0 8, Brandi White 0-0 0-0 0, L'Tia Lawrence 4-7 7-7 15, Ryley Kehr 4-5 2-2 10, Dulci Skunkcap 2-4 0-0 4, Morgan Mason 1-3 0-0 0. Totals: 19-55 18-20.
3-pointers: UP 10-24 (Dixon 1, Maldonado 3, Hazard 1, Cartwright 2, White 1, Pimperton 2). MSU-N 1-18 (Goldhahn 1). Rebounds: UP 33 (Esary 12), MSU-N 24 Hovde 6). Fouls: UP 19, MSU-N 11. Fouled out: None.
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