Skylights beat Diggers in Butte

For the second time this month, the Montana State University-Northern women's basketball team dug deep, and found a way to get past the Montana Tech Orediggers.

The Skylights beat Montana Tech 58-55 Thursday night in Butte. The Skylights took the first quarter 12-8, but the Orediggers turned the game around and tied the score going into half, 25-25. 

The third quarter was a wash with scoring at 18-18. The two teams battled down the stretch and Tech hit a layup to take the lead by one with 1:09 left in the game. The Skylights were aggressive down the stretch to get to the free throw line making 4-of-6 to take the lead by three points, and then hold on for the win.

The Skylights were led by Taya Trottier, who had 12 points, 12 rebounds, and five assists on the night. Ryley Kehr and Savannah Toms each added 14 points. Shyan Krass added seven points off the bench.

The Orediggers were led by Aubrie Rademacher, who had 20 points and nine rebounds. Liv Wangerin added a double-double with 12 points and 10 rebounds.

With the win, Northern improved to 3-3 in the Frontier Conference and 9-10 overall.

Lights fall at Tech

The MSU-Northern men didn't fare as well Thursday night. The Lights lost against No. 8 Montana Tech 89-54 in Butte.

The Orediggers took the lead early in the game pushing the lead to double digits. They hit some big shots to take the lead going into halftime 42-25. 

The Lights shot 35 percent from the field and 37 percent from behind the arc in the first half. Montana Tech shot 50 percent from the field and 63 percent from the three. The Orediggers kept a steady lead in the second half to take the game.

The Lights were led by J.J. Thomas who went 5-8 from the field with 14 points. Zackry Martinez and Xavier Bailey each added 11 points. Bailey led the team in rebounds with seven.

The Orediggers were led by Michael Ure who had 35 points going 8-9 from the three-point line. Caleb Bellach added 12 points gong 5-7 from the field. Hayden Diekhans led the team in rebounds with seven.

The Lights are 9-10 overall this season and 1-5 in the Frontier.

Northern returns to the Armory Gymnasium to host Montana Western Saturday. The women tip off at 2 p.m. with the men to follow at 4 p.m.