Rematches on tap for Lights, Skylights

George Ferguson Havre Daily News sports editor [email protected]

It will be a weekend of redemptionseeking and new beginnings for the Montana State University-Northern men's and women's basketball teams at the MSU-Northern Fieldhouse. Tonight, the Skylights play their only game this week when they host the Dickinson State Blue Hawks at 6, while the Lights and Blue Hawks square off at 8. On Saturday, the MSUN men are at home to take on Minot State University in a 4 p.m. game. Tonight's games with DSU have plenty of story lines. The Skylights (0-3) are off to a difficult start this season, but haven't looked like a team still searching for their first win. Northern has lost to the No. 10 team in NAIA at home by six points, as well as road losses to DSU, by two points and Minot State by three in overtime. And while MSU-N has played at a high level against three extremely good opponents, and has gotten solid play from guards Taylor Keller, Samm Schermele and Laramie Schwenke, as well as forward Zivile Gaizutyte, Skylights head coach Chris Mouat said there are several factors in which Northern must be better in order to get that first win of the year. “For us to be successful, we'll really need to limit their (Blue Hawks) second-chance opportunities from offensive boards," Mouat said. "This has hurt us at times in each of our three games thus far. We'll also need to limit our unforced turnovers. We had a bunch last weekend at crucial times that really hurt us. Cleaning up our turnovers and taking care of the boards have definitely been focus points for us this week.” At DSU last Friday, the Skylights played a great game on the road, only to be beaten by Amber Adams 3-pointer at the end of the game. The loss was MSU-N's fourth straight to the talented Blue Hawks dating back to last season. DSU (3-0) is off to an unbeaten start this year after going to the NAIA Division II tournament a year ago. A big reason why is 6-2 senior center Kia Herbel. An NAIA All-American, Herbel has averaged a double-double in her last four outings against MSUN. "She is one of the best post players we'll see all season," Mouat said of Herbel. "She has excellent hands and finishes inside extremely well. And, at 6-2 she really does a nice job of running the floor in transition. She had some foul trouble and still put up big numbers in the first game. "Dickinson State is a very seasoned team." He added. "Their guard group is solid and they have a ton of depth there. As a group, they are all able to hit the open three and get to the rim. They have been playing without one of their best guards (Kelsey Boedecker) for a few games and will only get better once she returns.” DSU's deep and talented roster includes former Malta standout Kelly Pankratz, as well as Teryl Norton and a host of others. Meanwhile, in tonight's homeopener for the Northern men, it will be the Lights (1-1) on the lookout for a team hoping for some revenge. Despite suiting up just seven players for last weekend's road trip to Dickinson and Minot, the Lights played a great second half at DSU and knocked off the Blue Hawks 61-49 MSU-N's first win in Dickinson in more than eight years. Northern also played at a high level the next night in Minot, but came up just short, losing to the Beavers 77-72. On last weekend's road trip, MSUN was without forward Walynn Burgess as well as guard Mark Payovich, both of whom were dealing with injuries. Senior Clay Greenland averaged 15 points and 11 rebounds on the trip, while Justin Dennis and Terrell Osborne also played well, as did senior swingman Andrew Sellars. But even with the win over the Blue Hawks in tow, the Lights and head coach Shawn Huse know tonight's game will be equally as tough. "They (DSU) are a very good team that is well-equipped at every position on the floor," Huse said. "We will need to play better Friday if we expect to have the same result as last time. They led us most of the night in their gym and we only ended up winning after having a little better shooting night overall than them. We don't want to rely on that kind of efficiency every time we play but instead ride our defense." The Blue Hawks (1-3) are loaded with talent, especially at the guard position with Nathan and Brian Lebsock, a pair of Frenchtown natives. DSU also has a pair of versatile forwards in 6-5 Nate Williams and 6-6 Brandon Thomas, both of whom can score from all areas of the floor. Anaconda native Rochi Estes is also off to a solid start to the season for the Blue Hawks in the paint. On Saturday, the Lights will go for an early season split with Minot State. The Beavers and Lights battles throughout last Saturday's game in Minot, with MSU edging the Lights 77-72. Like DSU, Minot State is talented and deep, and the Beavers are also experienced, especially with 6-1 senior guard Mister Carney, who leads the Beavers (3-1) in scoring. Nick Turner, Nathaniel and Neil Packineau and Jason West can all score from the outside, while 6-5 Demetrius Malone and 6-6 Marcus Blainton are both tough to handle inside the key. "Minot is a team that creates most of their opportunities off of forced and unforced turnovers," Huse said. "We felt like we had some chances at their place and simply did not capitalize. We did an excellent job of taking care of the ball in the first half but their pressure got the best of us in the second. Taking care of the ball is definitely a key to beating them but at the same time you need to play through some ugliness. If you let a few turnovers domino into other mistakes you'll be in big trouble. Our composure was solid in Minot and we need to keep it the same at home. If we do that we'll have a chance to get them in our gym." This weekend's home stand is the only time the Lights and Skylights will play in Havre the rest of November. Tonight's games with DSU start at 6 and 8, while Saturday's men's game between the Lights and Beavers tips off at 4 p.m. at the MSU-Northern Fieldhouse.