Lights, Skylights defend home court

Saturday at Armory Gymnasium, the Montana State University-Northern basketball teams resumed their seasons after a break. And in their return to play, both the Lights and the Skylights picked up a win.

The Skylights started the night with an 80-54 win over Concordia University of Edmonton. The Skylights got rolling early as they held a 21-10 lead at the end of the first quarter. By halftime, MSU-N led 47-27.

In the second half, the Skylights cruised to their victory that improved their overall record to 3-3 this season. Ryley Kehr led the team with 19 points on 9-for-15 shooting from the field. Savannah Toms also played well with 18 points on 8-for-10 shooting from the field. As a team, the Skylights shot 47.1 percent from the field.

Later that same night, the Lights defeated Concordia University of Edmonton, 93-62. The Lights came out strong as they had a 42-28 lead at the end of the first half. In the second half, the Lights continued to play well to pull away for the win.

With the win, the Lights improved their record to 6-2 this winter. Dae'Kwon Watson led the Lights with 21 points on 7-for-12 shooting from the field and 3-for-5 shooting from the 3-point line. As a team, the Lights shot 54.9 percent from the field and 33.3 percent from deep.

The Skylights played again Sunday afternoon at Armory Gymnasium, where they lost, 68-67, to Valley City State University. The Skylights started the game strong as they led, 18-17, at the end of the first quarter. By halftime, the Skylights led 38-33.

But the visiting team kept with it to tie the game, 54-54, heading to the fourth quarter. The Skylights pulled ahead again to take a 67-66 lead with about 14 seconds left in the game. But at the buzzer, Rosie Anderson made a layup to give Valley City State University the road win.

In the losing effort, Toms led the Skylights with 16 points on 6-for-9 shooting from the field. But it was not enough as the Skylights dropped to 3-4 on the season.

The MSU-N men's basketball team will next play the University of Montana in an exhibition game in Missoula Tuesday at 7 p.m. The MSU-N women's basketball team will play the University of Alberta-Augustana at home Thursday at 10 a.m.