Skylights take momentum to Carroll, Rocky

For the first time in Frontier Conference play, the Montana State University-Northern Skylights are on a winning streak. But for that to continue Northern will have to keep it going on the road - at two nationally ranked rivals.

After thrilling wins over Providence and Montana Tech last week, the Skylights (4-10, 12-14) are headed on the road for the final time in league play, as they visit No. 8 Carroll College Thursday night and No. 24 Rocky Mountain College Saturday.

While MSU-N is a combined 0-4 against the Saints and Battlin' Bears this season, the Skylights take some much-needed confidence and momentum into their final road trip of the regular season.

"Winning (the last two games) was a huge confidence boost for our kids," Northern head coach Chris Mouat said. "We've been playing well for a while now, but to get over the hump like we did, that's big."

The Skylights have played well since league play started in January, especially on the defensive end, where they are allowing just 52 points per night in conference play. Offensively, MSU-N has been up and down, but the Skylights have delivered when it matters most in recent games. Peyton Kehr and Sydney Hovde continue to average double figures for the Skylights, while Sabin Keo has given Northern a great punch off the bench in recent weeks, and a healthy Tiara Gilham and Hailey Nicholson has made a world of difference, too.

And all of that will come in handy this weekend against two NAIA Top 25 teams.

"We are going to need to do a great job with both teams defensively, and we are going to need to take care of the ball and execute," Mouat said. "Both of these teams do a nice job of taking advantage of mistakes. We'll also need to do a much better job on the boards at both ends if we want to be successful."

Thursday night's game will be a tough one for the Skylights to be successful in, thouhg, because Carroll (10-4, 18-7) is on a roll right now. Led by All-American Hannah Dean, as well as former Blue Pony standout Dani Wagner, the Saints have won three straight, and just beat the Skylights 72-60 back on Feb. 2.

"Carroll is playing as well as anyone in the country right now," Mouat said. "They have been shooting it well from the 3-point line and are a great offensive rebounding team. Defensively, they are playing well in both man-to-man and in their zone. Hannah Dean is a do-it-all player for them and she's got a lot of talent around her who all help make Carroll very tough. Dani Wagner is coming off of a career-high game at Lewis-Clark and she's been really shooting it well. They are a complete team and we'll need to be very sharp and clean up the fixable things that hurt us in the last game."

Things won't get any easier Saturday when the Skylights travel to Billings to face Rocky. The Bears (7-7, 16-10) have lost three straight games but own two wins over the Skylights and, led by a huge front line that includes Justyn Juhl, Alecia Chamberlain and Brooke Jones among others, Rocky is simply a tough matchup for Northern.

"Rocky is a physical team who is as good as anyone defensively," Mouat said. "They have good depth in the post and have some excellent weapons on the perimeter. As just a freshman, Kloie Thatcher has really stepped up at the point guard position for them and she's had some big games offensively. They are another team who is really good on the offensive boards. Alecia Chamberlain is a great player who has essentially been a starter for four years, and she can do it all."

Yes, it's a tough trip indeed, but this deep into the season, the Skylights have become a tougher, stronger and better team than they were when they traveled to Rocky and Carroll back in November. Northern also has a bit of momentum on its side, but Mouat knows, life on the road in the Frontier is always daunting.

"This is a tough trip against two nationally ranked teams," he said. "Carroll is coming off of a huge weekend with wins at UM-Western and a 21-point win at Lewis-Clark State. Rocky lost a close one at Western and they played very well in that game. Both teams are physical and they defend."

Thursday night's game between MSU-N and Carroll tips at 5:30 p.m. in Helena. Saturday's game at RMC also tips at 5:30 p.m. The Skylights close out the regular season next weekend with home games against LC State and Western.