Skylights get another shot at Frontier powerhouse Carroll

The Carroll College Fighting Saints have been one of the best teams in not only the Frontier Conference, but also all of the NAIA this season. And the Montana State University-Northern Skylights get one more shot at them.

Tonight, Northern visits Carroll in the first round of the Frontier Conference playoffs. The Skylights (9-20) will be playing the Saints (23-6) for the fourth time this season, with Carroll going 3-0 in the regular season against Northern.

"Carroll is the one team we haven't played well against this year," Northern head coach Chris Mouat said. "They are a great team. They have great players. They have talent and depth, and they're very well coached. And to be honest, we have not played well at all against them. Hopefully, we can turn that around on Wednesday.

"Our goal the last few weeks has been to just keep getting better," he added, "so that we're playing our best basketball in the tournament."

The Skylights enter the postseason fresh off a win over Montana Tech last Thursday. In that game, Sydney Hovde became Northern's all-time leading rebounder, while recording yet another double-double. Her play, along with veterans Peyton Kehr, Ryley Kehr and point guard L'Tia Lawrence will be crucial tonight against the Fighting Saints.

On the other side of the coin, Carroll is led by All-American and former Havre Blue Pony Dani Wagner, as well as star forward Jamie Pickens in the paint. But the Saints's roster goes much deeper than just that great duo, and, on top of how good they are, Carroll is playing with a chip on its shoulder after finishing a surprising third in the Frontier, with a loss to Providence last Thursday night in the regular season finale.

"They'll be hungry," Mouat said. "They're such a very good, well-coached team, but now, they are playing with a lot to prove, so we're gong to have to match that intensity. We're going to have to be ready to go from the opening tip.

"I like where we're at right now," he added. "And even though we haven't played our best against them (Saints), we're going down there with the intentions of winning this game, and keeping our season alive. It's going to be a challenge, but our kids are confident, and that's the goal is to go in there and get a win."

The winner of tonight's game, which tips off at 7 in Helena, will meet either top-seeded Rocky Mountain College or second-seeded Providence in a semifinal Saturday. In the other first-round game, Montana Western is hosting Montana Tech tonight in Dillon. The Frontier championship game will be held next Tuesday.