Skylights cruise in season openers

In absolutely dominating fashion, the Montana State University-Northern women’s basketball team picked up right where it left off last season.

Northern finished the 2013-14 season with a run to the NAIA Sweet 16, and the Skylights opened their 2014-15 campaign with two impressive victories over the weekend.

The Skylights were in Edmonton, Alberta, where they defeated Concordia-Alberta 78-39 last Friday night, and King’s University 94-17 on Saturday afternoon.

“It went well,” Northern head coach Chris Mouat said. “I thought we did a lot of good things for the first games of the year. It’s early. We have a lot of work ahead of it. But it was a good start for us.”

In both games, Northern got off to quick starts, and the Skylights’ opponents could never catch up.

Against Concordia, MSU-N raced out to a 41-22 lead in the first half. Northern shot the ball well, but defensively, the Skylights really put the clamps on the Eagles, especially in the final 20 minutes of the game.

“We looked really good at times,” Mouat said of Friday’s opener. “We started very sloppy on the defensive end and gave up some points we probably shouldn't have, but we really re-grouped and had a nice finish to the game defensively. On the offensive end, we shared the ball extremely well.  We did miss too many layups throughout the game, but all in all it was a very good opener. Our defensive rebounding was outstanding, and our execution on offense was solid throughout the game.  All of our kids saw action and had a hand in positive plays.”

Four Skylights reached double figures against the Eagles. Natalee Faupel scored a game-high 17 points, while also grabbing nine rebounds. A’Jha Edwards scored 10 points and pulled down nine boards, while Taybra Teeters and true freshman Makhayla Farmer scored 10 each as well. Megan Feldman added nine points, while Faupel, Molly Kreycik and freshman Jacy Thompson each made a 3-pointer.

And while the Skylights were good in their first game of the season, they were even better in their second outing.

Against King’s University on Saturday, Northern was ahead 51-7 at halftime, as the Skylights were red-hot on offense, and almost unstoppable defensively. MSU-N outscored King’s 43-10 in the second stanza. For the game, the Skylights shot a blistering 60 percent.

“We had a complete game,” Mouat said. “We played a ton of players and everyone contributed. We learned that we have a lot to work on, but I'm extremely pleased with the way we executed at both ends.  We are sharing the ball very well.”

In the dominating win, Faupel scored 15 points, while Feldman scored 13 and Edwards added 12. Thompson scored 11 as did Taylor Cummings, while Farmer, fellow freshman Brandy Lambourne and sophomore Taryn Norby each chipped in with eight.

Northern will now get set to make its home debut Thursday night when the Skylights play Northwest Indian College at 6 p.m. at the Armory Gymnasium. MSU-N also hosts Warner-Pacific on Sunday night.

Skylights 78, Concordia 39

MSU-N – Jacy Thompson 1-4 2-5 5, Natalee Faupel 5-9 6-6 17, Brandy Lambourne 1-4 2-2 4, Taylor Cummings 1-5 4-7 6, Megan Feldman 4-6 1-1 9, Taryn Norby 0-4 0-0 0, Molly Kreycik 3-7 0-0 7, Makhayla Farmer 5-6 0-0 10, A'Jha Edwards 5-8 0-0 10, Cydney Auzenne 0-4 0-0 0, Taybra Teeters 4-7 2-2 10. Totals: 29-64 17-22 78.

Halftime: Northern 41-22. 3-pointers: 3-12 (Thompson 1, Faupel 1, Kreycik 1). Rebounds: 42 (Edwards 9, Faupel 9). Fouls: 10. Fouled out: None.

Skylights 94, King's University 17

MSU-N – Jacy Thompson 4-11 2-2 11, Natalee Faupel 7-9 1-1 15, Brandy Lambourne 2-6 3-4 8, Taylor Cummings 3-5 5-5 11, Megan Feldman 5-6 3-4 13, Taryn Norby 3-7 0-0 8, Molly Kreycik 1-4 0-0 2, A'Jha Edwards 6-6 0-0 12, Makhayla Farmer 4-6 0-0 8, Cydney Auzenne 0-0 2-2 0, Taybra Teeters 2-5 0-0 4. Totals: 37-65 16-18 92.

Halftime: Northern 51-7. 3-pointers 4-14 (Thompson 1, Lambourne 1, Norby 2). Rebounds: 44 (Edwards 7, Teeters 6). Fouls: 10. Fouled out: None.