By Rob Everingham
DILLON It was one of the most important games of the year, but the MSU-Northern Skylights came up short against Western Montana College on Thursday night, 84-70.
The game was to decide who would finish in second place in the conference heading into next weekend's Frontier Conference Tournament.
Northern was led by Laura Munson, who finished with 25 points and five rebounds. The only other Skylight in double figures was Abby Hjorth, who added 13 points and six rebounds.
The Skylights Jana Smith, who leads the conference in scoring, was held to just eight points in the game by the Western defense.
Northern had a 46-39 lead at the half, but the Bulldogs offense exploded in the second behind Bobbi Suhr who finished with 20 points.
The biggest difference in the game was Western had 20 more shot attempts than the Skylights.
Next up for the Skylights is their final regular-season game of the year, as they host Westminster. The Griffins downed the Skylights in Salt Lake City on Feb. 3, 52-44.
This is the final weekend in Frontier Conference regular season play before the top six teams head to Lewiston, Idaho, and the campus of Lewis-Clark State. The L-C Warriors are ranked No. 1 in the nation and are undefeated on the season.
MSU-Northern 70
Western Montana College 84
MSU-N Kristine Noel 2-10 2-2 7; Abby Hjorth 6-10 1-2 13; Jana Smith 3-8 2-2 8; Laura Munson 10-14 5-5 25; Brianne Dunn 3-6 0-0 6; Anna Fabatz 1-1 0-0 3; Jennifer Young 1-5 0-0 3; Kelsy Burgmaier 1-3 0-0 3; Lynn Kansteiner 0-1 2-4 2. Totals: 29-60 12-15 70
Western Trisha Jones 6-13 0-0 18; Karly Tait 4-12 2-3 11; Allison Burlingame 4-13 0-0 10; Misty Covington 1-5 4-4 6; Keri Vosen 2-3 0-0 4; Lindsay Haugan 2-3 0-0 4; Julie Sherrill 1-7 1-3 3; Jari Suhr 0-1 0-0 0; Bobbi Suhr 9-10 1-2 20; Tanya Romer 3-6 2-2 8. Totals: 32-80 10-14 84
Halftime: Northern 46, Western 39. Three-pointers: MSU-N 3-4 (Noel 1-1, Fabatz 1-1, Young 1-1), WM 10-21 (Jones 6-9, Burlingame 2-4, Tait 1-3, B. Suhr 1-1); Rebounds: MSU-N 32 (Hjorth 6), WM 36 (Jones 9); Assists: MSU-N 8 (Noel, Young 2); WM 16 (Jones, Burlingame 4); Total fouls: MSU-N 13, WM 10; Fouled out: none.
