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Northern's Ryley Kehr goes for a layup against Montana Tech at Armory Gymnasium Thursday night. After the game was tied, 25-25, at halftime, the Orediggers played strong in the second half to pull away for the 71-61 win over the Skylights. MSU-N has yet to pick up a win in the Frontier Conference this season.
The Frontier Conference has been tough for the Montana State University-Northern Skylights and it did not get much easier for them on Thursday night at Armory Gymnasium when they faced Montana Tech. While they were missing head coach Chris Mouat, the Skylights did battle early on trying to pick up their first conference win this season. But they could not keep up as Tech took control in the second half to win 71-61.
"We had some really good moments but then we also had some bad moments," MSU-N assistant coach Sierra Richards said as she took over coaching duties for the game.
The Skylights scored on their first possession of the game with a layup from Sydney Hovde. After a basket from Brooke Heggie to tie the game, the Skylights responded with back-to-back 3-pointers from L'Tia Lawrence and Morgan Mason to take an 8-3 lead. But Dani Urick made a pair of 3-pointers to tie the game again. Ally Cleverly then connected from deep to give Tech an 11-8 lead halfway through the opening quarter.
Over the next few minutes, both offenses failed to put the ball in the basket. Lawrence finally broke the scoring drought with a 3-pointer to tie the game. Peyton Kehr then went to the free-throw line and made one of her two attempts to give MSU-N a 12-11 lead to end the first quarter.
The Skylights started the second quarter on a strong note with an 8-2 run to push their lead to 20-13. Lawrence made a pair of 3-pointers during the run to continue her hot start to the game. But the Orediggers did not back down as Heggies made a pair of baskets down low to cut the deficit to three.
The teams exchanged baskets over the final three minutes of the half. After Peyton Kehr made a basket, Mollie Peoples responded with one of her own. Even after Ryley Kehr made a layup and one free throw to push the lead to 25-19, the Orediggers scored six straight points to tie the game, 25-25, heading to halftime. Soda Rice capped off the run with a 3-pointer with 1.7 seconds left on the clock while being fouled. But she missed the free throw that would have given Tech a halftime lead.
The Orediggers kept up their momentum with a 10-2 run to start the third quarter. Peoples started the run with a 3-pointer to give Tech the lead. After a bucket from Peyton Kehr, the Orediggers scored seven straight points for a 35-27 lead with seven and a half left in the quarter.
Over the next few minutes, the Skylights tried to fight their way back into the game but Tech kept them at bay. The Skylights were finally able to grab momentum with an 8-0 run in the final few minutes. Shyan Krass took over the game during that stretch as she scored six points to help cut the deficit to 44-43. But Heggie was able to get a bucket before the buzzer to give Tech a 46-43 lead to end the third.
The Skylights could not slow down the Tech offense to start the fourth. Madison Allen got a 10-0 run started with a 3-pointer. Tavia Rooney then made a layup and one free throw to cap off the run and give Tech a 56-43 lead with seven and a half minutes left in the game.
"We just couldn't get the big stop," Richards said about the second half. "They made some big shots and our shots weren't falling at the time."
The Skylights tried to battle back the rest of the way and even cut the deficit to eight points with about two minutes left. But Tech was able to hold them off and win the game. The Skylights finished the game shooting 35.6 percent from the field and 38.1 percent from three.
"I just think that our shots weren't falling," Richards said about their shooting performance. "We had wide open looks all around the arc and inside but they just didn't fall."
Lawrence finished the game with 21 points to lead the Skylights. She shot 7-for-17 from the field and she excelled from deep going 6-for-9. Peyton Kehr scored 19 points on 5-for-16 shooting from the field and 8-for-10 shooting from the free-throw line. Heggie led the Orediggers with 19 points as she went 8-for-11 from the field.
The loss dropped the Skylights to 7-12 this season and 0-5 in conference play. While they have not yet picked up a conference win, Richards believes she saw progress in some areas and hopes that they can carry that on moving forward.
"We handled pressure pretty well," Richards said. "We struggled with that at the beginning of the year and I think we've done a lot better."
The Skylights will next play Carroll College at Armory Gymnasium this Saturday at 2 p.m.
Montana Tech 71, MSU-N 61
Tech 11 14 21 25 - 71
MSU-N 12 13 18 18 - 61
Tech - Brooke Heggie 8-11 3-4 19, Tavia Rooney 5-11 4-4 14, Dani Urick 3-7 6-6 14, Mollie Peoples 5-12 0-0 12, Madison Allen 2-6 0-0 5, Ally Cleverly 1-7 1-2 4, Soda Rice 1-2 0-0 3, Jaden Comings 0-1 0-0 0, Aubrie Rademacher 0-1 0-0 0. Totals 25-58 14-16.
MSU-N - L'Tia Lawrence 7-17 1-1 21, Peyton Kehr 5-16 8-10 19, Ryley Kehr 2-9 2-3 6, Sydney Hovde 3-7 0-0 6, Morgan Mason 1-5 0-0 3, Shyan Krass 3-3 0-0 6, ShaAnn Danelson 0-1 0-0 0, Savannah Toms 0-0 0-0 0, Dulci SkunkCap 0-1 0-0 0, Hazel Fiu 0-0 0-0 0. Totals 21-59 11-14.
Halftime: 25-25. 3-pointers: Tech 7-18 (Dani Urick 3, Mollie Peoples 2, Soda Rice 1), MSU-N 8-21 (L'Tia Lawrence 6, Peyton Kehr 1, Morgan Mason 1). Rebounds: Tech 31, (Tavia Rooney 9), MSU-N 30, (Sydney Hovde 9). Fouls: Tech 15, MSU-N 17. Fouled Out: None.
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