No letdown: Skylights crush Dickinson State

The Montana State University-Northern women's basketball team scored one of the biggest wins in the last couple of years when the Skylights beat 10th-ranked Vanguard Thursday night in Havre.

So, excuse Northern head coach Chris Mouat for being just a little worried about a letdown with a game against arch rival Dickinson State just 24 hours later.

And yet, Mouat's worries were quickly put to rest as a 16-0 second quarter run propelled the Skylights to a 82-45 win over the Blue Hawks Friday night inside a packed Armory Gymnasium. The win pushed Northern to a 3-0 start and capped an exciting weekend for the Skylights.

"What a great effort by our kids," Mouat said. "The biggest worry after beating Vanguard was us coming out flat or not having the same energy we had Thursday night. You worry about a letdown. Instead, our kids came out with great energy and were ready to play. And they executed about as well as they possibly could. So I'm really proud of them for that."

After an impressive defensive display against Vanguard, the Skylights locked down the Blue Hawks, but on the offensive end, Northern was a juggernaut Friday night.

Tiara Gilham hit back-to-back 3-pointers in the first quarter, helping the Skylights take a 24-12 lead. In the second, Hailey Nicholson was almost unstoppable as Northern scored 16 unanswered. And when Reilly Walsh buried a triple, MSU-N went into the break with a resounding, 51-25 lead.

"We made shots," Mouat said. "Thins go a lot better when you make shots, and we made shots tonight. I also thought our bench did a great job again. We had a lot of kids contribute off the bench in both games this weekend."

Though DSU slowed the pace down early in the third quarter, there would be no comeback, and via a Kenya Lorton three, and shots by Gilham and Nicholson, the Skylights closed the period on a 7-0 run. And they never looked back in a win that saw them shoot 54 percent, make six treys, shoot 85 percent from the foul line and out-rebound the Blue Hawks by a staggering 39-26 margin.

Nicholson would lead four Skylights in double figures with 20 points on 9-of-11 shooting. Gilham had a huge night as well, coming off the bench to score 17 points and go a perfect 3-for-3 from distance. Walsh and Sydney Hovde also chipped in with 10 points apiece, as the Skylights stayed perfect ahead of next Thursday's Field Trip Game against Corban College. DSU, which shot just 27 percent, got 13 points from Ashlie Larson, while former Havre Blue Pony Danielle Wallace scored six points and grabbed eight boards.

"It was a great team win," Mouat said. "Everyone who saw the floor did something to contribute tonight. We played well, and it was a lot of fun to watch."

Skylights 85, Dickinson State 42

Dickinson 12 13 9 11 - 45

MSU-Northern 24 27 11 20 - 82

DSU - Sydney Clark 3-8 0-2 6, Ashlie Larson 5-12 0-1 13, Ashlie Watts 1-5 0-0 2, Dakota Dosch 1-12 2-2 4, Danielle Wallace 3-7 0-0 8, Natalee Hofer 1-3 0-0 3, Lindsey Peterson 2-5 0-0 6, Luisa Popp 0-1 2-2 0, Shali Sheridan 1-5 0-0 3. Totals: 17-62 6-8.

MSU-N - Hailey Nicholson 9-13 2-2 20, Sydney Hovde 5-8 0-0 10, Allix Goldhahn 0-3 0-0-0 0, McKenzie Gunter 4-9 0-0 8, Peyton Kehr 0-1 0-0 0, Kenya Lorton 2-8 0-0 5, Reilly Walsh 3-4 2-2 10, Petra Sellin 0-0 0-0 0, Ryley Kehr 3-4 0-0 6, Morgan Mason 0-1 2-2 2, Tiara Gilham 7-10 0-0 17. Totals: 35-65 6-7.

3-pointers: DSU 5-27 (Larson 1, Hafer 1, Peterson 2, Sheridan 1), MSU-N 6-13 (Lorton 1, Walsh 2, Gilham 3). Rebounds: DSU 27 (Wallace 8), MSU-N 39 Hovde 7). Fouls: DSU 10, MSU-N 8. Fouled out: None.