Skylights open a new season on the hardwood

It's time to get the season started.

The Montana State University-Northern Skylights return to the court tonight to open their 2023-2024 season.

The Skylights will be much more experienced than a year ago. After being one of the youngest teams in the Frontier last season, Northern is now bringing back 10 players who have played in the program, and seven who have started in at least one game.

Senior Ryley Kehr, a 5'10" forward, has been a regular in the lineup for four seasons and has been a starter in the past two. Last season, she averaged 11.3 points and 5 rebounds and earned Frontier Conference Player of the Week honors. Junior Savannah Toms, a 6-foot-0 post, started 18 games last season and averaged 7.3 points and 4 rebounds per game. Shyan Krass, a 6-foot-2 post, was the co-6th Man of the Year. She averaged nearly 10 points and 6.1 rebounds per game.

The Skylights also return guards L'Tia Lawrence and Rachel Van Blaricom. Lawrence, a 5-foot-10 guard from Harlem, is a former Freshman of the Year in the Frontier as well as 6th Player of the Year. In 2021-2022, her last season of competition, she scored in double figures for the Skylights. Van Blaricom, a 5-foot-8 guard from Clancy, earned All-Defensive Team honors as a freshman.

Jalen Callender and Sydney Hansen return as two players who have been utilized at a number of different positions on the floor. Callender, a 5-foot-10 swing player from Caldwell, Idaho, played at four different positions last season. Hansen, a 5-foot-9 guard from Big Timber, also saw time on the perimeter as well as in the paint.

Sophomore Taya Trottier, a 5-foot-7 guard from Harlem, returns after missing most of last season. She played in seven games and was a big contributor at the guard positions. ShaAnn Danelson, a 5-foot-7 guard from Scobey and Dulci SkunkCap, a 5-foot-10 guard from Browning also return on the perimeter after seeing action in a combined 47 games during the 2022-2023 season.

Newcomers McKenzie Long and Karina Cabrera bring added depth to the perimeter for the Skylights. Long, a 5-foot-7 guard from American Falls, Idaho, had a standout two-year career at Walla Walla Community College. Cabrera, a 5-foot-7 guard from Laguna Beach, California, set numerous scoring and three-point records in high school as well as at Orange Coast College. They are joined by 6-foot-1 Savannah Seiler, a forward from Orange Lutheran, California. Last season, Seiler averaged over 9 rebounds per game, helping Orange Coast College to a CCCAA state championship.

The Skylights will open the season Monday Night in Winifred. They will be taking on Montana State University-Billings in an outreach game. The Skylights will be aiming to bounce back after an 8-21 season a year ago.

"This is a heck of a challenge to start our season," longtime Head Coach Chris Mouat said. "MSUB is coming off of a deep run in the NCAA Division II tournament and they are picked to win their league. They have a ton of great returners and some big-time additions to their roster. They are definitely one of the top teams in the nation at the Division II level."

The Skylights once again took on a very tough non-conference schedule. They will play a pair of November tournaments in Great Falls, including a matchup with Vanguard University, a perennial top 10 NAIA team. They will also take a Thanksgiving trip to Hawaii where they will take on nationally ranked Eastern Oregon University as well as NCAA Division II Chaminade University.

The first home game for the Skylights will be a field trip game on Dec. 2. It will be the third field trip game that the Skylights have hosted and coach Mouat believes it is a great opportunity for his team.

"The field trip game is a great way to connect and grow our game with the young people in our area," Mouat said. "The support they bring in the gym is amazing, and we are really looking forward to a gym full of kids having fun."

MSU-Northern will again play in Phoenix in the Frontier Challenge in December. They will play three games, including squaring-off with Menlo College, a Golden State Athletic Conference member. Menlo returns one of the best players in the country and was in the NAIA National Tournament last season.

The Skylights will wrap up their pre-season with a pair of games after Christmas, and then will turn their attention to conference play. Frontier play will open with the Skylights traveling to Dillon to take on Montana-Western Jan. 6. Their home opener will be against Montana Tech Jan. 11.

"We are looking forward to the season and I like the progress we are making," Mouat said. "The chemistry in this group has been really solid, and our newcomers are fitting in and picking things up quickly.

"Of course, you never feel like you are truly ready for your first game and that you could always use more preparation time," Mouat added, "but it's time to play. MSU-Billings will definitely show us right where we are at, and will give us plenty of things to work on moving into our first two tournaments in Great Falls. We will again have one of the toughest schedules in the country (last year MSU-Northern was number three in the nation in strength of schedule."