Frontier Notebook: After a wild regular season, the fun really begins in the Frontier

And just like that, the Frontier Conference’ regular season is over. Saturday night was the finishing touch on an incredibly competitive and sometimes wild Frontier season.

But the end also brings a new beginning, and when the Frontier Playoffs tip tonight, with the women going first, things will just start to get interesting an entertaining.

On the women’s side, Lewis-Clark State ran away with the Frontier regular season crown, finishing with just one loss on the season. The Warriors (29-1) have a bye and home-court advantage throughout the Frontier tourney. The MSU-Northern women finished solo second with a 12-6 record and also have a bye to the semifinals. The Warriors and Skylights also finished exactly where they were picked at the start of the season.

One team that didn’t finish where it was picked was the UM-Western Bulldogs. Picked to finish last, the Dawgs had their best season in over a decade, going 11-7 in league play, and surely earning an at-large berth to the national tourney. Western also finished last a season ago, but now, the Dawgs will host a playoff game tonight against Rocky Mountain College, another team headed to the national tournament. The Battlin’ Bears finished sixth in the league standings at 5-13, exactly where they were picked at the start of the season. The other first-round matchup tonight pits Montana Tech (9-9) at home against Carroll College (8-10). At the start of the season, Carroll was nationally ranked and picked to finish fourth, but the Saints have had an up-and-down year and slid behind the Orediggers in the final league standings. Tech was picked to finish fifth and could play its way into the national tourney with a run in this week’s playoffs. UGF was picked third and had gone to the Elite 8 in the last two national tournaments but finished last at 1-17 and isn’t a part of the Frontier playoffs.

The women’s playoffs continue Friday night with LC State hosting the lowest remaining seed and Northern hosting the highest remaining seed. The championship game will be played next Monday at the site of the highest remaining seed.

The men’s playoffs begin Wednesday night. Carroll College won the regular season title with a 15-3 league mark and has a bye, as does UM-Western, which went 14-4. The Saints were picked to finish first this season, while Western was tabbed third, but as it stands, both teams are already locked into the national tournament.

LC State, the defending Frontier champ, made a great run the last two months, to finish third. The Warriors (11-7) were picked second, and they will host UGF in the first round. The Argos (4-14) finished exactly where they were picked in the regular season standings. The Northern men will also be home for the first round, in a quick turnaround against Rocky, which beat the Lights Saturday night. Both teams finished at 9-9 and tied for fourth, but the Lights went 2-1 against the Battlin’ Bears during the regular season, which means Northern will host the playoff game. Rocky was picked fourth at the start of the season, while the Lights were picked fifth. Montana Tech, picked to finish last, did so with just one league win this season.

The men’s playoffs continue Saturday night with Carroll hosting the lowest remaining seed and Western hosting the highest remaining seed. The championship game is set for next Tuesday at the site of the highest remaining seed.

The winner of the men’s and women’s championships receive an auto bid to the NAIA national tournament.

Big Dance

Speaking of the national tournament, there are some certainties at this point, on both sides.

As it stands, the Frontier women have four teams locked into the big dance in Billings. LC State, Northern and Western are all going, and Rocky receives a bid as the tournament host. Montana Tech enters the playoffs with an outside chance, but the Orediggers would probably need to win two more games to really be in the hunt. Carroll has a good overall record, but at 8-10 in the Frontier, the Fighting Saints will have to win the league title in order to get to Billings. Still, at minimum, the Frontier will have four teams playing next month in Billings.

On the men’s side, only Carroll and Western are in at this point, and both will likely be high sides with their standing in the NAIA Coaches Poll and excellent overall records. The only other team with a chance at an at-large berth is LC State. The Warriors have a strong resume, but they will need to at least win one game in the Frontier playoffs, and maybe even two, in order to secure an at-large berth. The rest of the playoff field would have to earn the Frontier’s automatic bid in order to get to Kansas City at this point.

Leaders

With the regular season over, here’s a look at the statistical leaders in the Frontier.

Northern’s Natalee Faupel averaged 18 points per game to capture the scoring title on the women’s side. Faupel also shot an incredible 51 percent from the floor for the regular season. Cassidy Hashley of Carroll won the rebounding title with 10 per game. Northern’s Sierra Richards was second at eight per game. Richards also finished second to Hashley with seven double-doubles. Hashley had 10.

LC State’s Caelyn Orlandi not only paced the Frontier with her seven assists per game, but she led the NAIA as well. Steph McDonagh of UGF led the league in steals at three per game and 77 on the season, while UGF’s Whitney George led the league with 67 blocks.

On the men’s side, LCSC’s Doug McDaniel won the scoring title with his 18 points per game, just edging out Carroll’s Ryan Imhoff and Zach Taylor, who both averaged 17. David Straughter was Northern’s highest scorer at 11 ppg, which was 15th in the league. LCSC’s Zavon Jackson also captured the league’s rebounding title with seven per outing.

Western point guard Dom Robinson led the league in assists at four per night, while teammate Shyke Smalls led the league in steals with 72. Northern’s Ryan Reeves, who also averaged six rebounds per outing, led the Frontier in blocked shots with 57 and two per night.

Frontier Honors

The final week of the regular season saw Northern’s Natalee Faupel named Frontier Conference Player of the Week for the second straight week, and the seventh time this season.

Faupel scored 25 points against UM-Western and 28 points against Rocky Mountain College last week. Faupel averaged 26.5 points and eight rebounds per game. She was 20 of 31 from the field (65 percent), 5 of 8 3-point field goals (63 percent) and 8 of 9 from the free throw line. She secured a game-winning offensive rebound in the closing seconds in the win over Western.

Western’s Dom Robinson was named Frontier Men’s Player of the Week. Robinson is a 5-8 junior guard from Tacoma, Wash. No. 13 Montana Western ended the regular season with two road wins. The Bulldogs downed (RV) MSU-Northern 76-66 and the University of Great Falls 108-63. Robinson averaged 26.5 points, six assists, two rebounds and 1.5 steals. He was 14 of 26 (54 percent) from the field, 11 of 18, 3-point field goals (61 percent); and 14 of 17 from the free throw line. He scored a career high 31 points in the win over Northern. MSU-N’s Ryan Reeves was also nominated.

Final Women's Standings

#1 – Lewis-Clark State (17-1, 29-1)

#2 – MSU-Northern (12-6, 22-7)

#3 – Montana Western (11-7, 22-7)

#4 – Montana Tech (9-9, 15-14)

#5 – Carroll College (8-10, 18-12)

#6 – Rocky Mountain (5-13, 13-17)

#7 – University of Great Falls (1-7, 12-17)

Quarterfinals Round - Tuesday, Feb. 28, 2017

No. 6 Rocky Mountain at No. 3 Montana Western

No. 5 Carroll College at No. 4 Montana Tech

Semifinals Round - Friday, Mar. 3, 2017

Lowest remaining seed at No. 1 Lewis-Clark State

Highest remaining seed at No. 2 MSU-Northern

Championship – Monday, Mar. 6, 2017

Lowest remaining seed at highest remaining seed

Final Men's Standings

#1 – Carroll College (15-3, 25-5)

#2 – Montana Western (14-4, 24-6)

#3 – Lewis-Clark State (11-7, 21-9)

#4 – MSU-Northern (9-9, 20-10)

#5 – Rocky Mountain (9-9, 16-14)

#6 – University of Great Falls (4-14, 12-17)

#7 – Montana Tech (1-17, 7-22)

First Round - Wednesday, Mar. 1, 2017

No. 6 Great Falls at No. 3 Lewis-Clark State

No. 5 Rocky Mountain at No. 4 MSU-Northern

Second Round - Saturday, Mar. 4, 2017

Lowest remaining seed at No. 1 Carroll College

Highest remaining seed at No. 2 Montana Western

Championship – Tuesday, Mar. 7, 2017

Lowest remaining seed at Highest remaining seed