Skylights remain at No. 10 in NAIA Poll

The Montana State University-Northern women's basketball team were left heartbroken after last Saturday night’s double-overtime loss to Westminster College. But, that loss didn’t hurt the Skylights any in the national rankings.

Northern remained at No. 10 in the latest NAIA Coaches Poll, which was released Tuesday afternoon, while the Griffins also remained at the No. 4 spot they were in when they came to Havre. Northern is also still in first place in the Frontier Conference standings, one half game ahead of the Griffins.

Once again, five teams from the Frontier remained inside the Top 25, though there was some movement. Lewis-Clark State dropped to No. 18 after a tough loss over the weekend, while Carroll College won twice and moved up two spots to No. 19.

Like the Skylights, the University of Great Falls women also lost a tough game to Westminster last weekend, and that loss didn’t affect the Argos’ position in the poll. UGF remained ranked No. 22, which means for the first time in history, the Skylights and Argos will both be nationally ranked when they meet on the hardwood. Northern travels to Great Falls this Saturday.

On the men’s side, things continue to look up for the University of Great Falls. With wins over then No. 9 UM-Western and Westminster last weekend, the Argos not only seized control of the Frontier standings, but they rose to No. 12 in the new NAIA Men’s Coaches Poll. It’s believed to be UGF’s highest ranking in two decades. After being swept by Northern and UGF, Western dropped to No. 18 this weekend, while Montana Tech received 37 votes and LC State received four.

The Skylights play at UGF Saturday at 5:30 p.m., while the Lights and Argos will meet at 7:30 p.m. inside the McLaughlin Center.

NAIA Women's Coaches Poll

Rn. Prv. Rec. Pts.

1 1 Freed-Hardeman (9) 19-1 250

2 2 Oklahoma City (1) 13-1 242

3 3 Campbellsville (Ky.) 20-1 234

4 4 Westminster (Utah) 14-2 226

5 6 Bethel (Tenn.) 18-2 218

6 7 Loyola (La.) 17-1 207

7 5 Langston (Okla.) 17-1 198

T8 8 Oklahoma Baptist 14-3 193

T8 9 Concordia (Calif.) 15-3 193

10 10 MSU-Northern 20-2 178

11 14 The Master's (Calif.) 16-4 165

12 11 Vanguard (Calif.) 13-5 162

13 15 Our Lady of the Lake 15-4 153

14 17 Wiley (Texas) 13-2 145

15 18 MidAmerica Nazarene 15-5 135

16 12 Shawnee State (Ohio) 17-5 124

17 16 Westmont (Calif.) 17-4 118

18 13 Lewis-Clark State 17-4 114

19 21 Carroll (Mont.) 13-6 113

20 20 Lyon (Ark.) 16-4 106

21 19 Lindsey Wilson (Ky.) 16-5 91

22 22 Great Falls (Mont.) 17-4 73

23 23 Martin Methodist 16-4 68

24 24 Columbia (Mo.) 15-5 67

25 RV Benedictine (Kan.) 15-6 60

Others receiving votes: Texas Wesleyan 36; Cumberland (Tenn.) 25; Georgetown (Ky.) 22; Wayland Baptist (Texas) 22; Pikeville (Ky.) 19; Southern-New Orleans (La.) 8; Culver-Stockton (Mo.) 7; Baker (Kan.) 6; Xavier (La.) 5; William Woods (Mo.) 4; Auburn Montgomery (Ala.) 3.

NAIA Men's Coaches Poll

Rn. Prv. Rec. Pts.

1 2 Cal State San Marcos 20-2 246

2 3 Pikeville (Ky.) (2) 20-1 241

3 4 Hope International (3) 18-1 238

4 6 Talladega (Ala.) 17-3 224

5 7 Freed-Hardeman (Tenn.) 17-2 216

6 1 Campbellsville (Ky.) 19-3 205

7 T9 Benedictine (Kan.) 18-3 204

8 13 Dalton State (Ga.) 16-2 196

9 14 Wayland Baptist (Texas) 16-2 185

10 15 Arizona Christian 17-4 165

11 11 Our Lady of the Lake 14-2 164

12 19 Great Falls (Mont.) 17-4 161

13 16 Columbia (Mo.) 18-3 153

T14 12 Concordia (Calif.) 17-4 142

T14 5 Martin Methodist 17-3 142

T14 17 Georgetown (Ky.) 17-3 142

17 25 Mid-America Christian 14-6 112

18 T9 Montana Western 15-5 108

19 20 Xavier (La.) 15-6 105

20 8 Oklahoma Baptist 15-5 98

21 21 Evangel (Mo.) 13-7 89

22 RV Bethel (Tenn.) 16-4 88

23 24 Cumberlands (Ky.) 17-4 71

24 23 Philander Smith (Ark.) 13-5 60

25 22 LSU Alexandria 11-2 57

Others Receiving Votes: William Carey (Miss.) 51; Westmont (Calif.) 37; Montana Tech 33; Missouri Valley 14; SAGU (Texas) 14; Vanguard (Calif.) 8; Lewis-Clark State (Idaho) 4; Central Methodist (Mo.) 3.