Skylights close out home schedule with Bears, Bulldogs

It's been a long and difficult season for the Montana State University-Northern Skylights. Injuries, COVID-19 and a daunting Frontier Conference schedule has been tough on a young Northern squad.

But Northern head coach Chris Mouat says his team is playing better heading into the final two home games of the regular season. Tonight, MSU-N (1-11, 8-18) hosts nationally ranked Rocky Mountain College, before playing host to Montana Western Saturday afternoon at the Armory Gymnasium.

And Saturday's game will be an emotional one, as MSU-N honors its three seniors, Peyton Kehr, Sydney Hovde and Morgan Mason.

"All three seniors bring leadership by example," Mouat said. "They are all great students who do a lot on campus and in our community. They have represented our program very well during their time here and I know that all three are set to do great things after graduation.

"Morgan brings energy to everything we do. She is one of those kids who is the first one to step up when things need to be done. She is a leader on our campus and is very active. She leads our team in charges taken, which is not an easy thing to do. She plays as hard as anyone and has been a part of some very big wins for our program during her time here," he added. "Syd will go down as one of the best rebounders in program history. Had we not had cancellations last year and this year, she would already be the all-time leader. She has been very consistent and has shot a high percentage from the field, and she's improved her free throw percentage a ton since she first arrived. She battles, night-in and night-out, against great post players. She has been one of the top rebounders in the Frontier Conference in each of her four seasons. She has been an all-conference honorable mention selection. Peyton currently sits at eighth on the Northern all-time scoring list with 1,336 points. She has had some huge games for us during her career, and has scored over 20 points in a game 18 times. This season, she is averaging a career-high 15.2 points per game. She has really improved her game off of the dribble over the course of her career, making her a more complete offensive player. She has also been an honorable mention all-conference honoree."

And the Skylights will be hoping to send the seniors out with a win. But before they get to Saturday, they must first face one of the hottest teams in all of NAIA hoops in RMC (10-2, 22-3). Behind star guard N'Dea Flye's 22 points and 10 rebounds per game, the Battlin' Bears are on the verge of winning a regular season Frontier title.

"Rocky has probably the most dynamic player in our league, if not in the country," Mouat said. "N'Dea Flye is leading our conference in a bunch of categories, including rebounding, which is amazing from the point guard spot. She's just a special athlete who can really play. But there is much more to Rocky than just her. They have a great group who can score and defend. Kloie Thatcher has had a lot of big games and is a returning All-American for them and she's doing a great job. Shauna Bribiescas can score from anywhere and is playing very well for them. They are talented and playing as well as anyone in the nation right now."

Turning their attention to Western (4-8, 14-10), things will be just as difficult, though the Skylights finally get to play the Dawgs at their place after two trips to Dillon earlier this season.

"Western is capable of big nights from the 3-point line, and if they get going, they are really dangerous. They pressure the entire game and we need to do a much better job taking care of the ball against them," Mouat said. "Nearly every player on their team can shoot it and as a team they can get hot. Brynley Fitzgerald does amazing things for them and is a matchup nightmare. She has size and is very aggressive. She is tough from the three, in mid-range and at the rim. She was an All-American last year and is set to be one again this year. They have a talented group around her and they play extremely hard."

As good as RMC and Western are, Mouat said his team is really starting to gel, and he sees some key areas in which they can have success during their final homestand of the season.

"We need to continue to focus on taking care of the ball and finding a way to win on the boards," MOuat said. "As a team, we've been shooting the ball much better over the past few weeks. We will have to put a 40-minute effort together where we avoid long lulls on offense where we don't generate points. We have had more sustained runs over the past few weeks, and we've gotten better. We are playing two great teams and will have to be at our best."

Tonight's game between Northern and RMC tips off at 5 in the Armory Gymnasium. Saturday's home finale against Western will begin at 2 p.m.