Saints edge Skylights in a classic

The Montana State University-Northern Skylights have had some great games with the Carroll College Fighting Saints. And, in recent years, the Skylights have come out on top more often than not.

The two teams played another great game in the rivalry Friday night, but this time, Carroll bucked the recent trend.

In an epic defensive struggle which pitted two NAIA Top 5 teams against each other, the No. 5 Saints edged the No. 2 Skylights 55-49 Friday night inside the Armory Gymnasium. It was just Northern’s second loss to Carroll in the last five seasons, and only the Skylights second loss of this season.

“Credit to Carroll,” Northern head coach Chris Mouat said. “They did some really good things defensively to get us out of rhythm, and we were definitely out of rhythm tonight. We knew they would have a great game plan, and they executed it really well. I thought our kids played very hard, and I’m proud of them for that. But, at the end of the day, Carroll just played better than we did.”

The game wasn’t just a matchup of two of the top-ranked teams in the country, it was also a meeting of two of the best defenses anyone will see in NAIA basketball this season. And that was clear from the onset, as both teams committed a slew of turnovers in the first quarter, while Northern held Carroll to just 37 percent shooting and 25 percent from the 3-point-line, while the Skylights were held to 42 percent shooting and 25 percent from beyond the arc as well.

So, with two great defenses, offense was tough to come by, and Northern clung to just an 8-6 lead after 10 minutes of play.

Things did pick up in the second quarter though, as Sara Chalich’s 3-pointer would cap a 9-0 Carroll run. MSU-N would wrestle the lead away on buckets by Sierra Richards and Natalee Faupel, but the Saints finished the first half on an 8-2 run and led 24-21 at intermission.

“They (Saints) did some really good things defensively,” Mouat said. “We were really struggling to score in the first half. But I thought we made some really good adjustments in the second, and we executed them well.”

Indeed. Northern opened the third period with a three by Jacy Thompson, but Carroll again picked up the pace offensively, with three layups from Katie Estey, and the Saints’ lead bulged to 36-29. Northern had answers though, and one came in the form of sophomore Cydney Auzenne, who scored five points in the third stanza, helping MSU-N trail just 39-36 with 10 minutes to go.

And things would stay tight down the stretch, as twice, Thompson buried triples in the fourth quarter to cut Carroll’s lead to two points. But Northern just couldn’t quite get over the hump, and even though the Skylights did have a heartbeat when Rachelle Bennett scored with :29 left, the experienced Saints did enough at the free-throw-line to keep the Skylights at bay and leave Havre with a rare win in the Armory.

And while Carroll did find a way to win, mostly on the shoulders of its defense, and 21 big points from Estey, the Skylights, who played a tough game against UGF Thursday night while Carroll rested, did battle, and even shut down the Saints’ much bigger inside advantage. Star center Cassidy Hashley was held to just 10 points and Northern was only out-rebounded 28-26.

“I do feel like our defense was very good,” Mouat said. “I thought we did a good job against their size. I thought we rebounded and blocked out really well, and that’s where Carroll is so good. Their size did hurt us at times, but for the most part, I thought we stood up to it pretty well.

“And a big part of that was the game Sierra Richards had for us tonight,” Mouat continued. “I’m really proud of what she brought to the table tonight.”

Richards was charged with defending Carroll’s outstanding post players, and she did well, scoring nine points and grabbing six rebounds. Faupel had another outstanding game as well, scoring 17 points and pulling down eight boards, while Thompson finished with 15 points and three triples.

And while the loss in what was billed as the NAIA Game of the Week will sting for a bit, the Skylights know they will bounce back. They are a veteran team, and, they get to play four more conference rivals inside the Armory, starting with this Friday’s visit from Montana Tech, before a showdown with Lewis-Clark State Saturday night.

“I’m proud of our effort, our effort was great tonight,” Mouat said. “But, sometimes effort isn’t enough. Eventually, you have to play better and our kids know that. They understand we got beat tonight by a very good basketball team, and they know what it takes to bounce back from that.”

Skylights are 2-2 in Frontier, 13-2 overall; Next Up: Vs Montana Tech Friday

Carroll College 55, Skylights 49

Carroll 6 18 15 16 - 55

Northern 8 13 15 13 - 49

CC - Jordan JOHNSTON 1-2 0-0 2, Katie ESTEY 6-14 9-10 21, Baylee WATSON 3-10 0-0 6, Bailey PASTA 0-1 0-0 0, Kacie MCKEON 0-2 0-0 0, Brittney JOHNSON 0-5 0-0 0, Cassidy HASHLEY 4-8 2-2 10, Michaela DOWDY 1-2 2-2 4, Sara CHALICH 3-4 0-0 9, Oona HARRINGTON 0-0 0-0 0, Hannah DEAN 1-4 1-2 3. Totals 19-52 14-16 55.

MSU-N - Jacy Thompson 6-12 0-0 15, Brandy Lambourne 0-0 0-0 0, Natalee Faupel 5-8 7-8 17, Rachelle Bennett 1-6 0-0 2, Peyton Filius 0-0 0-0 0, Molly Kreycik 0-1 2-2 2, Jessica Anderson 0-1 0-0 0, Cydney Auzenne 1-3 2-2 4, Sierra Richards 3-5 3-4 9. Totals 16-36 14-16 49.

3-pointers: CC 3-12 (ESTEY 0-5, PASTA 0-1, JOHNSON 0-2, CHALICH 3-4), MSU-N 3-12 (Thompson 3-5, Faupel 0-1, Bennett 0-3, Kreycik 0-1, Auzenne 0-2). Rebounds: CC 28 (HASHLEY 9), MSU-N 26 (Faupel 8). Fouls: CC 19, MSU-N 16. Fouled out: Thompson.