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Northern sweeps UGF on record-breaking night in the Armory

On a night when Natalee Faupel broke a 20-year older record, the Montana State University-Northern Skylights pulled off a stellar comeback against the University of Great Falls Argos.

In the third quarter of Thursday night's game in the Armory Gymnasium, Faupel surpassed Sheila Green as Northern all-time leading scorer. She also scored 17 of her game-high 21 points in the second half, helping the No. 11 Skylights fend off the Argos 70-64.

Faupel hit a 3-pointer that tied the game at 58-58 with just under five minutes to go, then, with three to play, Sierra Richards started a 10-0 Northern run with a 3-point play, as the Argos went the final three minutes without a point.

"Great Falls is a very good team and we knew that," Faupel, the reigning Frontier Player of the Year, said. "We had to fight for a full 40 minutes tonight. And the fact that we won this game and we're 6-3 in conference, that's the most rewarding thing about tonight."

The Skylights did have to fight. After leading 8-2 in the first quarter, they went over 10 minutes without a field goal, and eventually trailed 30-26 at the break. Northern busted out for 27 points in the third, as Molly Kreycik buried three 3-pointers, but, UGF quickly took the lead back at the start of the fourth, forcing the dramatic finish, in which the Skylights made six straight free throws in the final :39, as they moved to 6-3 in the Frontier and 16-4 overall. UGF fell to a rough, 1-8 in league play and 12-10 overall.

Faupel finished her record-setting night with 21 points and five boards, while Kreycik and Richards chipped in with 17 each. Darah Huertas-Vining paced the Argos with 17 points.

Lights get revenge on UGF

In the men's game Thursday night in the Armory, the MSU-Northern Lights got a little payback against UGF. After a sluggish start that saw the two teams combine for just 19 points in the first 13 minutes of the game, the Lights got hot from 3-point-land in a 73-62 win.

Northern, which fell at UGF earlier this month, saw Tyler Chandler hit back-to-back triples, followed by shots from downtown by Dylan Tatarka, Kevin Oberweiser, Justin Dunsmore and David Straughter, which was all part of a 24-4 run midway through the second half. The Lights, who made 10-of-20 three's led by as many as 23 points in the second, and while UGF fought back in the final five minutes, it wasn't enough as Northern improved to 5-4 in the Frontier, while the Argos fell to 2-7.

Tatarka and Dunsmore led a balanced Lights' attack with 12 points each, while Straughter scored 10 and Tyler Chandler and Badhasa Margarsa each scored nine. Matt Brooks-McGregor led UGF with a game-high 16 points.

Both Northern teams are home to host Carroll College Friday night.

For more on Thursday's games, see Friday's Havre Daily News.

 

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