The Montana State University-Northern Lights have been in a mild slump lately, losing five of their last six games.
The Lights took to the road Thursday facing Lewis-Clark State, the second-ranked team in the Frontier Conference, and lost 88-62. Hoping to change their luck, they traveled to Westminster, the third-ranked team in the conference.
Tied at 41 at the half, Northern (14-11, 3-6) only scored 29 points in the second half, while Westminster (16-9, 7-4) scored 40. The loss put the Lights in fifth place in the conference.
Matt Sparrow was on fire for Westminster, shooting nearly 71 percent from the field on his way to a game-high 30 points. Brad Wilden followed with 18 points and Todd Christensen and Steve Cramer each added 12 to round out the scorers in double figures.
The Lights were outrebounded in the contest 32-25 and had five more turnovers than Westminster.
Leading the way for Northern was Josh Hays with 16 points, followed by K.C. Moultrie with 15 and Spencer Lazosky with 11.
E.J. Little missed his third straight game due to an injury.
NORTHERN
41 2970
WESTMINSTER 41 4081
Northern Spencer Lazosky 11, K.C. Moultrie 15, Jared Moultrie 5, Josh Hays 16, Jeff Graham 7, Uros Mirkovic 9, Faheem Nelson 7.
Westminster Todd Christensen 12, Steve Cramer 12, Matt Sparrow 30, Brad Wilden 18, Nick Taggart 5, Tommy Jensen 4.
Despite a 20-point effort by Paula Owens, the Montana State University-Northern Skylights were outscored 34-29 in the second half en route to a 67-62 loss to Westminster.
MSU-Northern (17-7, 4-5) went into the half with Westminster (7-18, 5-6) tied at 33. But it was the strong shooting of Amy Jensen (18 points), Rachael Patterson (20 points), and Rebekah Steenblik (13 points) that made the difference.
The Skylights have now lost two straight games and are in fourth place in the most recent Frontier Conference standings. The three teams above the Skylights are teams that have defeated the Skylights, including Western, which is undefeated in conference play, Lewis-Clark State and Westminster.
NORTHERN 33 2962
WESTMINSTER 33 3467
Northern Miranda Weiser 9, Tamecia Watkins 8, Jenny Balgua 6, Sarah Gaugler 2, Paula Owens 20, Nichole Neill 5, Angee Thomas 8, Amanda Walter 2, Brettney Vermandel 2.
Westminster Jessica Richter 4, Amy Jensen 18, Ashlee Granger 8, Rachael Patterson 20, Rebekah Steenblik 13, Jaclyn Walker 4.
