Lights, Skylights continue road trip with games at Providence, Rocky

It's the second week in a row the Montana State University-Northern men's and women's basketball teams will be on the road for tough Frontier Conference games. Yes, life in the Frontier is never easy.

Tonight, the Northern men and women will play at arch rival Providence in Great Falls, before moving on to Billings to face Rocky Mountain College Saturday afternoon.

For the MSU-N women, of longtime head coach Chris Mouat, the Skylights (0-6, 7-12) are still searching for their first conference win, while the rival Argos have just one win in league play, a victory over the Skylights back in December. So tonight's game will be a big battle, as the Skylights look to get over the hump. Northern has played every team in the league close this season, and Mouat is proud of the effort his kids give.

"There is no quit in this team, they fight hard," Mouat said recently. "They'll keep working to get better. They won't quit, that's for sure."

Indeed, MSU-N is a team that fights to the end. But the Argos are, too. The Argos scored 59 points per game, and are led by Maddy Dixon and Reed Hazard, who each scored 11 points, while returners Kennedy Cartwright and Brooklyn Harn are key contributors as well.

MSU-N also has a rematch with Rocky Saturday afternoon. The Skylights fell to the Battlin' Bears 76-60 back on Jan. 5 in Havre, and playing them in Billings will be even tougher. Rocky, ranked No. 20 in the NAIA, average 70 points per night, and are also one of the top defensive teams in the conference. Morgan Baird, Kloie Thatcher and Dominique Stephens lead the way all scoring in double figures.

Meanwhile, the Northern men come into the road trip fresh off a big win at Carroll College, but the Lights are still just 2-4 in league play, and tied with Carroll and Rocky for fourth place.

"We know we have to keep learning and stay humble," MSU-N head coach Shawn Huse said. "This team has great leadership and maturity. We have to keep improving every week as we head out on the road once again to take on Providence and Rocky. The mentality of this group is solid - we just need to stick with what we do and how we prepare, as each game takes on a life of its own in this league."

Providence (4-2, 10-9) has been the surprise of league play so far. The Argos have two of the top scorers in the Frontier in the duo of Davien Harris-Williams and Marcus Stephens who each drop 20 per night, while Kenny Curtis, Eric Milner, Jake Olsen and Sam Vining give UP plenty of depth. The Argos will also be looking to bounce back from a loss to Northern at home back on Jan. 1.

Northern will be the one looking to bounce back, though, when the Lights visit RMC (2-4, 10-8) Saturday. Rocky, behind the strong play of Kael Robinson, Kace Kitchel and Jesse Owens, dealt the Lights a heartbreaking defeat two weeks ago in Havre, so Northern will be looking for some payback come Saturday, and also, the Lights, and Skylights for that matter, will be looking to end a long, four-game road swing on a high note.

Tonight's games between Northern and Providence start with the women at 5 p.m. in the McLaughlin Center in Great Falls, with the men to follow. Saturday's women's game between MSU-N and Rocky starts at 2 p.m. in Billings with the men to follow. The Lights and Skylights will start a four-game home stand next Thursday against Montana Western.