Skylights need a quick bounce-back against Rocky

The Montana State University-Northern Skylights are going to have to have a short memory. That's because, after getting beaten by University of Providence Wednesday night, the Skylights must now turn around and play another talented Frontier Conference rival.

This weekend, Northern (1-6, 2-9) will wrap up a five-game homestand with back-to-back games against the Rocky Mountain College Battlin' Bears, who one to the Armory Gymnasium Saturday night and Sunday afternoon.

And after the tough loss to the Argos, Northern head coach Chris Mouat is all about his team moving on.

"We have to look in the mirror and figure things out for ourselves, as players and coaches," Mouat said on Wednesday night. "And we don't have a lot of time to do it because we have a really good Rocky team coming in here, and we need to be ready for them. So that's been our focus going forward."

The fixing Mouat had in mind is how poorly the Skylights shot the ball against the Argos, and he said turnovers have been an issue since conference play began at the start of the month. Offensively, the Skylights get good production from veterans Tiara Gilham, Peyton Kehr, McKenzie Gunter, Sydney Hovde and Allix Goldhahn, but, that wasn't the case Wednesday.

"We've got to challenge ourselves to shoot the ball better," Mouat said. "I think they're taking good shots, we're executing the way we want to, but we've got to get the ball in the hole, and if we don't, we need to do a better job of getting some offensive rebounds. And turnovers are killing us. We have to be better than we've been. We have to take better car of the ball, because if you don't, and you don't shoot it well, you're not going to win games in this league, that's just reality."

And winning is what the Skylights are hoping to do against the Battlin' Bears.

Northern and Rocky (1-3, 1-3) should have already played twice this season, but those games back in December were canceled due to COVID issues, so, this weekend's meeting will be the first, and only time the two teams play each other during the regular season. But while Northern hasn't seen the Bears yet, Mouat knows what to expect.

"They're good," Mouat said of head coach Wes Keller's team. "They're explosive and they defend. So if we're not ready to go, they'll take advantage for sure. We've got to be ready for them."

Rocky is always tough, but the Bears are also a newer team after graduation struck them hard last year. Plus, they have just four games under their belt this season. Still, Rocky does return Kloie Thatcher, one of the best point guards in the conference. She averages 12 points per game, while 5-11 newcomer Shauna Bribiescas leads the Bears with 16 points per outing. The interior is also a strength for Rocky as 6-1 McKenzie Dothan is also a force.

Still, Northern can be a force, too, and Mouat has all the confidence in the world in his team. He said, the Skylights just need to clean up the mistakes that have been plaguing them, and they will be right back to being a team to reckon with in the Frontier.

"I know what we're capable of," Mouat said. "This team can play at a high level. We just need to execute on both ends of the floor, and clean up the things that have been hurting us.

"That's always tough when you try to do it against a really good team like Rocky," he added. "But that's what we have to do. We just have to come out ready to go, and execute at a high level."

The Skylights and Bears will meet Saturday at 5 p.m. and Sunday at 2 p.m. in the Armory.