By Tiffany L. Rehbein
Intensity and offensive execution defined the MSU-Northern Skylights' 74-63 win over the Minot State Beavers Friday at the Havre Townhouse Invitational.
Lack of intensity on the long defensive rebound described the Skylights 66-57 loss to Vanguard Saturday.
"We came out Friday and we had a lot of intensity," head coach Ray Peters said. "Offensively, we did a great job with ball movement, and we were able to get some open shots and knock those shots down."
Three Skylights hit double figures, led by Abby Hjorth with 19 in the contest. Freshman Jana Smith scored 11 points in the game, shooting 50 percent from the field.
"I felt that Abby Hjorth had a very solid game against Minot," Peters said. "She was very aggressive in our half-court offense, and a great job defensively."
The Skylights opened the contest, nailing the first five shots on the perimeter. Defensively, Northern continued its intensity by using full-court pressure to disrupt the Beaver offense. Minot State finished with 19 turnovers in the contest, while the Skylights committed 11 in the effort.
"In our motion offense, we got pretty good looks when we executed," Peters said. "We were shooting the open three's and we got off to a good start."
The Skylights went 9-for-13 from 3-point land. Hjorth went 2-for-2 beyond the arc, while Anna Fabatz nailed three treys. Fabatz notched 12 points in the game.
"Anna Fabatz, also, has really been, in these tough games, our saving grace," Peters said. "That is nothing surprising, though, because she started every game last season at the point guard. She comes in and plays hard, and that's what we need."
Although the Beavers battled throughout the entire game, the Skylights continued to sink the high percentage shots and free throws to sew up the victory.
"What made the game close was we did a very poor job rebounding on the perimeter," Peters said.
Against a tough Vanguard team Saturday, the long rebound hurt the Skylights.
"We were trying to release on the fast break before we finished on the defensive end," Peters said. "What we're doing is really tagging them and not really staying with them. That was the real killer against Vanguard. They sent a ton of people to the boards, and we got killed."
Four Vanguard players tallied double figures in the game, led by Marisa Emde with 16 points. Robbin Dittenbir added 14 points, while Becki Hudle chipped in 11 and Kelly Boeke had 10 in the game.
"They (Vanguard) had the mentality that, 'If we lose, we're going down battling,'" Peters said. "We lack that mentality right now. We lack that mental toughness."
The Skylights, down 16 points, narrowed the deficit to two points at one point in the game. However, the explosion was not enough to lift the Skylights into the lead.
"Vanguard, they're a really good shooting team, and we would make runs at them, and when we hit a shot, they hit a shot," Peters said.
But the Skylights were not without their hot shooting. Kristine Noel had a team-high 16 points in the contest, while Smith added 14, including shooting 6-for-6 from the free throw line.
"We had moments of brilliance, but that is why we do this stuff in the preseason; to get better," Peters aid.
The Skylight (2-3) have lost 3 of 4 home games during the past two weeks.
"If we were playing mediocre teams, we could get away with having windows of brilliance," Peters said. "We could be 5-0 and sitting on top of the world. Against the caliber of teams we are playing, we have got to be thinking, at least, and not always, playing in a mid-season form to beat them. We are two-and-three and playing nationally-ranked teams."
The Skylights defeated Black Hills State, an NAIA Division II power who has competed in the national tournament during the past four years.
Wayland Baptist, of Texas, is ranked in the top 10 nationally, while the University of Mary made the "Sweet Sixteen" tournament last season. Both teams defeated the Skylight last weekend at home.
"We need to use this and make ourselves stronger," Peters said. "We've already proven that we are just good enough to lose. We have identified where we are at, and we've got to see what we can do about that. Right now, if we can develop just a little bit more mental toughness, we are going to be just fine."
The Skylights return to action Nov. 26-27 at the Fresno/Pacific Tournament in California.
Minot State
63
MSU-Northern
74
Minot State -- Mandy Scheling 2-3 0-0 4; Jaimi Kenyon 1-11 1-2 3; Jamie Graham 5-15 0-0 14; Jamie Lamoureax 1-4 1-2 3; Tara Lavachek 0-2 0-0 0; Melissa Mitchell 2-3 0-0 4; Lisa Johnson 1-1 0-0 2; Kayla Blom 4-13 0-0 10; Janna Olson 0-1 0-0 0; Nichole Hayden 11-16 1-3 23. Totals: 27-69 3-7.
MSU-N -- Kristine Noel 1-5 0-0 3; Anna Fabatz 4-6 1-2 12; Abby Hjorth 5-9 7-9 19; Jana Smith 3-6 4-5 11; Myra Bagley 0-4 0-0 0; Jennifer Young 0-0 1-2 1; Laura Munson 1-2 0-0 2; Brianne Dunn 4-6 1-2 9; Jackie Rasnick 0-1 0-0 0; Kelsy Burgmaier 2-10 2-2 8; Lynn Kansteiner 3-8 3-4 9. Totals: 23-57 19-26.
Halftime -- MSU-N 34, Minot 28. Three pointers: MS 6-18 (Graham 4-9, Blom 2-6); MSU-N 9-13 (Noel 1-1, Fabatz 3-4, Hjorth 2-2, Smith 1-1, Burgmaier 2-2); Rebounds -- MS 45 (Kenyon 10); MSU-N 35 (Hjorth 6); Turnovers -- MS 19; MSU-N 11; Total fouls: MS 21
Vanguard
66
MSU-Northern
57
Vanguard -- Marisa Emde 5-9 4-4 16; Becki Hudle 3-8 4-4 11; Deborah Candelaria 1-3 4-8 6; Robbin Dittenbir 6-11 2-2 14; Kelly Boeke 4-8 2-4 10; Rachel Fiske 0-3 1-2 1; Laura Lee 1-3 0-0 3; Beth Weidler 1-1 0-0 2; Kristen Axelson 1-2 0-0 3. Totals: 22-49 17-24
MSU-N -- Kristine Noel 6-10 4-4 16; Abby Hjorth 3-10 2-2 9; Jana Smith 4-9 6-6 14; Brianne Dunn 2-6 3-4 7; Kelsy Burgmaier 0-4 0-2 0; Anna Fabatz 0-8 4-6 4; Laura Munson 3-4 1-2 7. Totals: 18-57 20-28
Halftime: Vanguard 31, MSU-N 14; Three-pointers: VU 5-12 (Emde 2-4, Lee 1-3, Hudle 1-3, Axelson 1-1); MSU-N 1-17 (Hjorth 1-3). Rebounds: VU 42 (Dittenbir 7); MSU-N 30 (Burgmaier 5); Assists: VU 8 (Fiske, Hudle 3); MSU-N 9 (Smith 4); Total fouls: VU 28. MSU-N 24. Fouled out: Dittenbir, Noel, Burgmaier. Att: 1300
