Skylights beat Hawks, again

Less than two weeks ago, the Montana State University-Northern Skylights blew out the Dickinson State Blue Hawks. But that was inside the Armory Gymnasium.

The rematch turned out to be a lot more difficult, but Monday night in Dickinson, North Dakota, the No. 21 Skylights were able to hold on for a 66-61 win over the Blue Hawks.

"Very proud of our kids tonight," MSU-N head coach Chris Mouat said. "We knew they (Blue Hawks) would be tough at home. They have already improved a ton from when we saw them the first time and credit to them, because they just didn't go away. They kept on coming back on us. But in the end, our kids showed a lot of fight and a lot of poise, and they found a way at the end."

Northern got off to an incredible start, with Peyton Filius leading the way. And by the end of the first quarter, the Skylights were ahead 23-12. DSU trimmed that lead to 35-28 at halftime, but midway through the fourth quarter the Skylights were again leading by 15 points. However, DSU rallied one more time. Northern, though, made key plays down the stretch, and the Skylights were able to escape Dickinson with a season sweep of the Blue Hawks.

"Peyton got us off to a great start," Mouat said. "She played a great game. And then, down the stretch, Brandy Lambourne really led us. She hit some big shots, she ran our offense really well, and played tough defense. I was really proud of her toughness at the end of the game."

Filius buried four of Northern's six 3-pointers and scored a career-high 18 points, while Lambourne scored 15 and made key free throws down the stretch. Shiloh McCormick chipped in with eight points and 10 rebounds, while former Havre Blue Pony Lacey Waid scored 13 for the Blue Hawks.

And while the game wasn't perfect, as Northern committed 18 turnovers, the Skylights gutted out a hard-fought road win, just three days after their easy, 103-39 win at Salish Kootenai College.

"We made some mistakes tonight, but we found ways to stay in front," Mouat said. "This was a big win for us, on the road, against a very well-coached and much-improved team. So we'll be happy with the win, and we will just continue to work and continue to get better."

The Skylights have two more games this week. They play Northwest University Saturday night in Great Falls, and then host GSAC power San Diego Christian Sunday afternoon in Havre.

Skylights 66, Dickinson State 61

Northern 23 12 11 20 - 66

Dickinson 12 16 8 25 - 61

MSU-N - Jacy Thompson 3-9 0-0 7, Brandy Lambourne 5-11 5-6 15, Naomi Terry 2-4 0-0 4, Jessica Curl 1-3 2-2 4, Peyton Filius 5-14 4-4 18, Peyton Kehr 1-2 2-2 4, Shiloh McCormick 2-8 3-3 8, Lily Hilderbrand 1-2 0-0 2, Kealani Sagapolu 2-4 0-2 4. Totals 22-57 16-19 66.

DSU - Natalee Hafer 0-3 0-0 0, Lacey Waid 5-8 0-0 13, Isidora Tasovic 3-10 0-0 7, Karen Hopkins 1-2 0-0 2, Jennifer Burnham 6-9 1-2 14, Riley Helmick 2-6 4-5 9, Rojin Karahan 3-11 3-6 9, Madison Hansen 2-2 0-0 4, Tarissa Phipps 1-4 1-1 3. Totals 23-55 9-14 61.

3-pt FG: Montana State-Northern 6-18 (Thompson 1-2, Lambourne 0-3, Terry 0-2, Filius 4-9, Kehr 0-1, McCormick 1-1), Dickinson State 6-15 (Waid 3-4, Tasovic 1-4, Burnham 1-3, Helmick 1-3, Karahan 0-1). Rebounds: Montana State-Northern 42 (McCormick 10), Dickinson State 28 (Waid 5). Fouls Montana State-Northern 15, Dickinson State 21. Fouled out: Waid Burnham

Lights dominate Salish

The Montana State University-Northern Lights returned to regular season play Friday night when they, too, traveled to Pablo to take on Salish Kootenai College.

And from start to finish, Northern was dominant and showed no letdown after their close loss to Montana State last Wednesday in Bozeman. Northern defeated Salish 103-73.

The Lights made 12 3-pointers, including five in the first half by Adam Huse, who finished with a game-high 19 points. Caulin Bakalarski also nailed four triples and scored 16 points in the easy MSU-N win.

The Lights are back home this Saturday to host SAGU American Indian College. The game will tip at 3 p.m. inside the Armory Gymnasium.