Skylights fight back

The Montana State University-Northern Skylights needed a big win. And it came against one of the toughest rivals in the Frontier Conference.

After falling to the Montana Western Bulldogs on Saturday night, the rematch on Sunday went down differently as it went down to the wire. After trailing by 12 points in the second quarter, the Skylights had come back to tie the game at 70 with less than half a minute remaining in the game. MSU-N senior Tiara Gilham, who led the team with 19 points, took it upon herself to secure the win as she scored the go-ahead layup with nine seconds remaining. The win was the Skylights' first this season against the Bulldogs as they had lost their previous three games against them.

"We really played them a lot cleaner, played at our pace, did the things we wanted to do," said MSU-N head coach Chris Mouat. "We got in a big hole and still came back and found a way to win the game so I couldn't be prouder, especially of our five seniors."

It was back-and-forth throughout the first half. The Skylights had a promising start early in the first quarter as they took a 6-5 lead, all scored by senior forward Sydney Hovde. The Bulldogs and Skylights then fought to a 13-13 tie with just over four minutes left in the quarter. The teams would exchange three-pointers through the rest of the first, but the Bulldogs had the 22-19 advantage heading into the second quarter.

The second quarter played out the same. The Skylights fought back to take a 35-33 lead with just over two minutes to go before halftime. Yet again, the Bulldogs took the lead back and headed into the break with a 39-37 lead. The third quarter initially seemed like it would tell a different story as the Bulldogs came out with more energy than the Skylights. Western opened the third with a 10-0 run, aided by Skylight turnovers and fouls.

"You can withstand those things if you're putting the ball in the basket but we weren't at that time," Mouat said.

With the 12-point lead nearly halfway through the third quarter, it looked like the Bulldogs would sweep the Skylights again. However, the Skylights fought back thanks to strong play from freshman guard L'Tia Lawrence. In a stretch at the end of the third and beginning of the fourth, Lawrence had a personal 10-5 run against the Bulldogs to cut the lead to seven.

"I thought we really dug our heels in, started getting stops and really executing on the offensive end," Mouat said.

The Skylights also got contributions from Gilham and sophomore forward Riley Kehr in the fourth quarter to make the score 69-68 in favor of the Bulldogs heading into the game's final minute. After an offensive foul committed by the Dawgs, Hovde scored on a layup to give the Skylights their first lead since the first half. Western then sent Brynley Fitzgerald to the free-throw line with a chance to take a one-point lead. However, she missed one free throw to leave the game tied at 70. Gilham made the go ahead layup and Fitzgerald missed the game-winning 3-pointer as time expired to give the Skylights the win.

In the first of the two-game set, the Skylights got off to a great start as McKenzie Gunter hit a 3-pointer and Peyton Kehr added a layup that gave MSU-N a 12-5 lead. From there thought Western went on a 14-0 run, led 18-12 after the first period, and went on another 10-0 run to up its lead to 27-16 early in the second. Meanwhile, the Skylights went on a nearly nine-minute field goal drought and ended up shooting just 27 percent in the first half, as they trailed 39-21 at the break, as former Box Elder Bear Lily Gopher finished the huge first half for the Dawgs with a three-point play.

"We just didn't shoot it well at all," MSU-N head coach Chris Mouat said. "I thought we settled for too many quick shots, we could have gone inside more. And we just missed too many open looks. We got plenty of good shots, but we didn't make them. And Then they really gapped us at the end of the second. That hurt."

Things didn't get a whole lot better for Northern in the second half, either. Tiara Gilham did score 13 points in the third, but, Western had all the answers as Paige Holmes and Sydney Sheridan splashed three's to spark yet another Bulldog run that saw them lead 59-38 after three and cruise in for the 75-58 win.

"They're playing exceptionally well right now," Mouat said of the Bulldogs. "They beat us off the dribble, beat us to the rim, they made shots, and they do a great job of executing their zone and trapping defense. So credit to them. On the other hand, we know we did not play well. Our kids know that, and they know they can play better."

It was a tough night for the Skylights who shot 38 percent and made just five triples. Gilham did finish with a game-high 19 points, while Gunter and L'Tia Lawrence scored 10 each. The Skylights also won the battle of the boards, but it wasn't enough as Western shot 50 percent, went 9-of-22 from downtown and had three players in double figures.

The home split improved MSU-N to 5-12 on the season and 4-9 in the Frontier. They now look to finish their season up with a doubleheader at Montana Tech starting Saturday and Sunday.

Skylights are 4-9 in Frontier, 5-12 overall; Next: at Tech Saturday-Sunday

Western 75, Skylights 58

Montana Western 18 21 20 16 - 75

MSU-Northern 12 9 17 20 - 58

MW - Brynley Fitzgerald 1-8 0-0 3, Natali Dennig 3-4 2-2 8, Paige Holmes 5-6 2-3 14, Jenni Weber 5-7 0-0 12, Shainy Mack 3-8 3-4 9, Lily Gopher 2-6 3-3 7, Sydney Sheridan 3-6 6-8 13, Mesa King 3-5 2-3 9. Totals: 25=51 16-21.

MSU-N - Brandi White 0-1 0-0 0, Allix Goldhahn 0-2 0-0 0, L'Tia Lawrence 3-8 2-2 10, Ryley Keher 2-3 1-2 5, Mckenzie Gunter 3-8 3-4 10, Peyton Kehr 1-7 0-0 2, Dulci Skunkcap 1-2 0-0 3, Morgan Mason 1-2 0-0 3, Sydney Hovde 1-3 4-5 6, Tiara Gilham 7-13 5-6 19. Totals: 19-49 15-19.

3-pointers: MW 9-22 (Fitzgerald 1, Denning 2, Holmes 2, Weber 2, Sheridan 1, King 1). MSU-N 5-18 (Lawrence 2, Gunter 1 Skunkcap 1, Mason 1). Rebounds: MW 28 (Holmes 7), MSU-N 33 (Hovde 12), Fouls: MW 17, MSU-N 17; Fouled out: None.

Skylights 72, Western 70

Montana Western 22 17 18 13 - 70

Montana Northern 19 18 11 24 - 72

MW - Brynley Fitzgerald 5-15 7-9 21, Natali Denning 0-1 0-0 0, Paige Holmes 3-4 0-0 8, Shainy Mack 6-10 0-0 14, Lilly Gopher 1-4 3-4 5, Sydney Sheridan 2-8 0-0 5, Mesa King 4-5 0-0 8, Jenni Weber 3-5 0-0 9. Totals 24-52 10-13 70

MSU-N - Allix Goldhahn 0-4 0-0 0, L'Tia Lawrence 6-13 2-2 18, Ryley Kehr 1-2 2-5 4, McKenzie Gunter 6-9 0-1 14, Peyton Kehr 1-2 0-0 2, Morgan Mason 0-2 0-0 0, Sydney Hovde 6-7 3-4 15, Tiara Gilham 8-15 2-2 19. Totals 28-54 9-14 72.

3-pt FG:Montana Western 12-28 (Fitzgerald 4-11, Denning 0-1, Holmes 2-2, Mack 2-5, Sheridan 1-4, Weber 3-5), Montana State-Northern 7-15 (Goldhahn 0-2, Lawrence 4-6, Gunter 2-3, Mason 0-1, Gilham 1-3). Rebounds: Montana Western 18 (Fitzgerald 7), Montana State-Northern 39 (Hovde 12). Fouls Montana Western 17, Montana State-Northern 11. Fouled out: none. Technical: GUNTER.