2018-19 MSU-N Basketball Preview: Brand-new Skylights hit the court

The Montana State University-Northern women’s basketball team enjoyed quite the ride the past few years. From multiple trips to the NAIA national tournament, appearances in the Frontier Conference championship game and countless NAIA All-Americans and Frontier Conference honors, the Skylights have cemented themselves as a premier team in women’s basketball.

But, that ride came to a grinding halt a year ago, as devastating injuries set Northern back on its way it to a 3-15 record in Frontier Conference play, as well as just 11 wins overall. From start to finish, injuries decimated the Skylights a year ago, and they could never get on track.

Now though, a new fall has arrived and it’s once again time for Northern to take the court, which the Skylights will do Friday night in Great Falls. And while injuries aren’t the issue at present time, Northern is dealing with putting together a nearly brand new team this season. Fortunately, the man constructing that team is longtime head coach Chris Mouat.

“We've had it pretty good for a while now, with having teams that return a lot of players and a lot of experience,” Mouat said. “This season, I’d say we return less experience than maybe we ever have. We are definitely inexperienced and pretty youthful.”

Indeed. Even with Northern’s struggles a season ago, they did have quite a bit of veteran experience, but, gone from that team is former NAIA All-American Jacy Thompson, as well as starters Brandy Lambourne, Peyton Filius, Kealani Sagapolu and Shiloh McCormick. Naomi Terry is also gone, after retiring from basketball due to injuries.

So, heading into a new season, the Skylights return just senior Jessica Curl and sophomore Tiara Gilham as players with any starting experience at the Frontier level.

Sophomore Peyton Kehr and senior Lily Hilderbrand also return, after seeing extensive playing time a year ago, while red-shirt-freshmen Allix Goldhahn and Jada Nicholson will also move up to impact the Skylight roster this season.

“We don’t have a ton of returning experience,” Mouat said. “But, we’ll lean heavily on those returners. Jess and T (Gilham) played a ton for us last year, and are going to be a big presence in the post. Peyton Kehr got a lot experience last year, and I think Allix really benefitted from her red-shirt season. She’s playing really well right now, and has grown a lot as a player. And that whole group, all of our returners, they are doing a great job of showing leadership for our team right now. So we’re really excited about that group.”

As much as the returners will be key to Northern’s success this winter, so too will a host of newcomers. At the top of the list is junior Hailey Nicholson (6-0). The former All-Stater from Malta joins her sister Jada with the Skylights, after playing two years for the famed University of Montana Lady Griz. And her impact on the Northern program will be a big one.

“She’s such a unique athlete,” Mouat said of Nicholson. “She’s tall, she’s long and she can play all over the floor. She brings a lot to our team, not just with her ability and her skill, but also her experience from having played at a very high level. She’s going to do a lot for us this season, and we’re very excited to have her in our program.”

While Nicholson can play a multitude of positions, Mouat also brought in a handful of transfer guards as well, including Petra Sellin (5-9) and Goske Aslan (5-3) from NCAA Division II programs, as well as Sam Caruth (5-9) and Sabin Keo (5-8) from the junior college ranks.

“Those four bring a lot of experience from a lot of different places,” Mouat said. “And each one of them brings a unique skill set to our team. G (Aslan) and Petra can both play the point, while Sam is a great shooter, and has long range from the three. Sabin was a two-time defensive player of the year at her junior college as well, so collectively, they bring a lot to the table, and they all are very talented players.”

While Curl, Gilham and Hilderbrand form a strong front line for Northern, Mouat also added former Columbia Falls All-Stater Sydney Hovde (6-0) in the paint. The North Idaho College transfer adds to Northern’s size and ability on the inside, while Box Elder’s Cecelia Vielle and Froid’s Morgan Mason will likely red-shirt this season.

“Sydney is going to really come in and compete hard for us,” Mouat said. “She’s blue collar, she’s a hard worker, a great rebounder, especially on the offensive boards, and she’s really good around the rim. She’s not as tall as some of the other posts in the league, but she will surprise people with how tall she actually plays. She’s very good, and she’s going to have a big impact on our inside game.”

Inside and out, the Skylights will have a lot of new faces on the floor this season, but, even with a relatively new roster, don’t expect the Skylights to change how they play. Northern will continue to be an up-tempo team offensively, and a stout, defensive group that emphasizes hard-nosed defense and rebounding — two staples of Mouat’s tenure at MSU-N.

“Offensively, I think we have a chance to be very balanced,” Mouat said. “We’re kind of built to score by committee. I think we’ll be able to run up and down the floor a bit more, because we have a lot of athletic ability, but overall, we’re not really going to change what we do, or what we’re about.

“Defensively, with our depth and athleticism, we’ll be able to go back to playing a lot more man-defense this year,” he continued. “With all of our injuries last year, we had to play a lot more zone, so I think the biggest thing is, we’ll be able to challenge more teams with our man-defense this season. And in the post, we’re taller and longer than we have been in a couple years, so that will be big for us from a defense and rebounding standpoint. So on both ends of the floor, we’re going to use our athleticism, and it’s exciting.”

Of course, with a new and relatively young team, all of those things will take time, and the Skylights will have to learn and grow against what Mouat says is the toughest non-conference schedule he’s ever constructed. The Skylights go to Washington to take on a pair of Cascade Conference teams in the Adidas Northwest Classic Oct. 26-27, before coming home to open their Armory Gymnasium schedule against NCAA DII Minot State. Then, at the University of Providence Tournament, Northern will face a pair of national tourney teams from a year ago in Arizona Christian and Westmont. The Skylights also play NAIA rival Dickinson State twice, and have three tough games in Arizona in December, including the University of Science and Arts of Oklahoma and San Diego Christian, two more national tourney squads.

“This is the toughest non-conference schedule I’ve ever put together,” Mouat said. “And it was done for a reason. I wanted to test our team and put them up against really tough teams. We play a lot of tough road games, and this hard of schedule is really going to not only prepare us for our league, but also help us grow as a team.”

And growth is something that Mouat admits will take time.

“It’s a process,” he said. “Really, across the board we’re brand new. So it can be a bit unnerving. But there’s an excitement to it too, and this team is really growing at a fast rate. This group brings really good energy, they play extremely hard, they all work really hard and there’s a lot of enthusiasm and excitement with this group, and that lifts the level of play up in practice every day. Every single day, they’re improving, and it’s very exciting. And I’m really pleased with how this group has come together, and with their attitude and work ethic each and every day. It’s exciting.”

No question, the Skylights are a team that will continue to grow and improve. Northern has talent, athleticism, and a strong work ethic, and, the Skylights also have Mouat, one of the most veteran coaches in the Frontier Conference, and a man who has guided Northern through every different kind of season one can imagine. And now that it’s finally time to start playing games, starting with Mount Royal Friday night in Great Falls, Mouat is excited to see what his team will look like against a real opponent, and he’s excited to start the journey of a brand new Skylight season.

“The goal right now is just to continually get better,” Mouat said. “And this team is already doing that. Our practices all fall have been great. But we also know you have to go out and earn that too, and now it’s time to do that. Now the season starts, and now we’ll really find out where we’re at. With this tough early-season schedule, we’ll find out what we’re made of for sure.

“But I’m really excited about this group,” he continued. “It’s going to be a process, and there will be growing pains along the way. But I think the ceiling for this team is really high. There’s a lot of talent and athleticism on this team, they have a great work ethic, and a great desire to get better. So I think the potential for this team is sky high this season.”

The Skylights open their season against Mount Royal Friday at 5:30 p.m. at the McLaughlin Center in Great Falls. Northern’s home opener is an exhibition game against Minot State Nov. 11. The Skylights open Frontier Conference play Nov. 29 at Rocky Mountain College and Dec. 1 at Carroll College.