Skylights land juco forward

Montana State University-Northern head basketball coach Chris Mouat is quickly adding to the Skylights' 2017 recruiting class. And Northern recently got some instant help.

Monday, Mouat announced the signing of Lily Hilderbrand to an NAIA national letter of intent. Hilderbrand comes to Northern from Everett Community College.

Hilderbrand, a 5-10 forward, averaged 12 points and seven rebounds per game before having her season cut short due to injury. She appeared in 21 games, and shot 64 percent from the field, 68 percent from the free-throw-line, and grabbed nearly three offensive rebounds per game.

Hilderbrand's biggest game was a 44-point, 18-rebound performance against Blue Mountain. In that game, she shot 17 for 18 from the field and 10 for 11 from the free throw line. She also collected 18 rebounds in the contest.

Hilderbrand is a 2014 graduate of Oroville High School in Oroville, Washington, where she was the MVP of her league as both a sophomore and a junior. She holds the school record for both career scoring and rebounding at Oroville.

"We feel fortunate to have Lily coming to MSU-Northern," Mouats said. "She has a really good nose for the basketball, and she plays much bigger than she is. Her game is really efficient and she shot an incredible percentage from the field this year. She knows how to work hard, is a team-first player, and I think she'll be a great fit in our program. "

Hilderbrand joins a Skylight program that finished 24-9 and qualified for a fourth consecutive NAIA Division I National Tournament. She is the daughter of John and Cori Hilderbrand, and plans on majoring in health promotion at MSU-Northern.