by Ryan Divish
Lewis-Clark State's old facility, Warrior Gym, wasn't very kind to the MSU-Northern women's and men's basketball teams in the past.
Unfortunately, the Skylights' and Lights' misfortune carried over into the brand new $15 million Lewis-Clark Activity Center.
Both teams had one rough half of basketball en route to a two-game sweep by the Warriors.
In the women's game, the two teams battled early in the first half, changing leads often with LC taking a 40-36 lead. Northern shot a solid 52 percent from the field and appeared to be poised to overcome the first-half deficit in the second half.
But the Skylights' shooting went from hot to downright frigid. Northern shot just 25 percent from the field on 8-32 shooting, including 1-14 from 3-point range.
While Northern couldn't buy a bucket, the Warriors couldn't' miss, shooting 57 percent from the field on 17-30 shooting.
Post players Ashley Baker and Kendra West had 19 points each to lead the Warriors. Jade Fulbright added 14, while point guard Nikki Haerling returned to action for the first time in two weeks to score 10 points and dish out eight assists.
Northern was led by Megan Valgardson's 19 points and eight rebounds. Jaci Heny added 15 points, while Kristie Pullin came off the bench to add 12 points and Jessi Reome chipped in with 11.
The cold shooting continued into the men's game as the Lights didn't just dig themselves into a hole, they dug themselves into a canyon in 71-51 loss to the Warriors.
The Lights couldn't hit anything in the half, managing just five first half field goals and a free throw as LC took a monstrous 34-11 lead at halftime. Officially, Northern was 5-20 from the field in the first half. While the the Lights were tossing up bricks, Lewis-Clark shot a respectable 41 percent from the field, including four 3-pointers.
Things improved for the Lights in the second half, as they managed to put up 40 points, but Lewis-Clark put up 41 second-half points to secure the win.
Danny Allen led a group of four Warriors in double figures with 15 points. Forward Martin Brothers had 14 points and 13 rebounds, while Joey Ray and Justin Fraser chipped in with 12 and 10 points, respectively.
Northern had just one player in double figures as Jordan Matthews finished with 20 points on 6-9 shooting. The Lights hurt themselves with 23 turnovers in the game.
The Skylights and Lights will return to action on Saturday when they face the Westminster Griffins on Saturday night in Salt Lake City.
