Northern hosts Carroll, Tech in big homestand

The final month of Frontier Conference basketball is bere, and the Montana State University-Northern men's and women's basketball teams have a big week ahead of them.

Thursday, the Lights and Skylights welcome in arch rival Carroll College, then the Northern teams stay home to host Montana Tech Saturday.

The Skylights are in a tie for third place in the Frontier at 4-5 heading into this week's home games, while No. 8 Carroll College is alone in first place at 8-1. So a win tonight would go a long way toward Northern securing a home playoff game.

Beating Carroll is no small feat, however. The Saints are 17-4 this season and loaded with weapons, including former Havre High star Kyndall Keller, while star forward Jamie Pickens is one of the top scorers and rebounders in the country. Maddie Geritz is another key inside player for Carroll, which boasts one of the biggest front lines in the NAIA.

As good as the Saints are, though, the Skylights battled them down the stretch last month in Helena, and Northern has been playing really strong basketball in 2024, so, tonight's game should be a real battle.

The Lights (2-7, 10-12) will be looking to battle their way up the Frontier standings, and they hope that starts with a win over the Fighting Saints (7-2, 13-9).

Northern has lost a ton of close games this year, which has left the Lights tied for last in the league standings with less than a month to go. Still, Dae'Kwon Watson and Zack Martinez have been playing at a high level as of late, and back at home, the Lights will be ready for the Saints tonight. Carroll will be ready, too. The Saints have been on an impressive run since the new year started, with Andrew Cook having a huge year for Carroll.

But, as good as the Saints have been, the Lights are in need of wins in a hurry, so they'll be ready to go tonight.

Thursday's doubleheader starts with the Skylights and Saints at 5, followed by the men's game at 7. Northern returns to the Armory Saturday as the Skylights host Montana Tech for a second time at 2 p.m., with the men's game against the Orediggers to follow at 4 p.m.