For the Kids: Skylights beat Corban

A big crowd is something any team hopes for when they play at home. But, what is better than a normal big crowd? How about a huge showing of ocal kids cheering on their team throughout the entire game.

For the Montana State University-Northern Skylights, playing against the Corban College Warriors was that kind of experience. The Skylights handled the Warriors well, beating them 69-43 Friday in the Armory Gymnasium and giving the crowd of kids a performance to remember in the first-ever Field Trip Game at MSU-N.

Northern head coach Chris Mouat was proud of his teams perseverance against the Warriors.

"I though we defended well," said Mouat. "To hold a team like that to 43 points is a good night because they're a nationally-ranked, tournament team. They're a quality team and we're happy to get a win like this."

No wonder the spirits were high for the Skylights. After all, the win against the Warriors kept them undefeated at 4-0.

The Skylights took control early in the game with an 11-6 lead and not too long afterwards, Northern went off on a 14-0 run on Corban. The run merged between the first and second quarter, with junior Kenya Lorton scoring most of the points on the run. With 6:20 left in the first-half, Northern had a 28-8 lead.

"Offensively, Kenya came in in the middle of the first quarter and gave us a huge spark on offense," said Mouat. "But, I got to tip my hat to Morgan Mason because she came in and ran the show for us. She did a good job and was confident, didn't miss a beat out there."

What followed was a back-and-forth scoring bout between the Skylights and Corban. Jordan Woodvine pulled the Warriors closer at 33-13, while Bri Turner and Rayna Pilgeram helped Corban cut MSU-N's lead to 38-19 at the half.

Mouat knew Woodvine was going to be a big player for Corban and was happy to see his team band together to contain Woodvine.

"Jordan Woodvine (Corban) showed why she's an All-American, first teamer," Mouat said. "She's really hard to guard and it took a team effort. Allix (Goldhahn) was tasked with her, but we had other players step in coming off the bench guard her. I thought for her to get 15-points, they were a tough team and Woodvine is capable of getting 30-points. I thought starting with her, we did a good job."

Even with a nice lead at the start of the second half, Northern was just getting started, but Corban was not done yet, either.

The Warriors dug into Northern's lead early in the third at 40-26, but three baskets by the Skylights kept them ahead. From there, the teams exchanged some quick 6-0 runs, then the game became a defensive battle. Northern managed to keep the edge by capitalizing on Corban turnovers, but the Warriors got their fair share of turnovers as well, trying to get back into the game.

But, multiple free throws kept the Skylights ahead. Even with the sparks on the Corban offense, Northern's defense was too much for the Warriors. In the end, MSU-N walked away with a great win in front of a big crowd.

The Skylights had a lot of players put up nice numbers. Junior Peyton Kehr made two 3-pointers, scored 16 points, and grabbed five rebounds. McKenzie Gunter added 11 points for the Sklights.

Overall, Northern performed quite well Friday, but Mouat has a specific part of his team that he was proud of.

"Our team defense stood out," said Mouat. "The biggest key was that everybody was dialed in, whether they were a starter or coming off the bench, everybody was dialed in on what we were trying to do."

The Skylights move to 4-0 on the season after the win over Corban. Sunday, Northern lost an exhibition game to 93-34 at Montana State University Sunday afternoon in Bozeman. The Skylights got off to a rough start against the Lady Cats, who are picked to win the Big Sky championship this season, and who got 14 points each from Oliana Squires and Darian White. Meanwhile, Gunter paced the Skylights with 20 points against the talented Cats.

"We didn't play well in the first half," Mouat said. "I thought we are a much better team than we showed in that first half. But, a lot of that was also them (Cats). They're really good. They're talented and they really got after us defensively. They put a lot of heat on us.

"I do think we came back and played much better in the second half," he continued. "So, as long as we learn from it moving forward, that's what matters most."

The Skylights (4-0) will play against the Northwest University of Washington and Dickisnon State at the Providence Tournament Friday-Saturday in Great Falls.

Note: Havre Daily News sports editor George Ferguson contributed to this story.

Skylights 69, Corban 43

Corban 8 11 17 7 - 43

MSU-Northern 22 16 17 14 - 69

COR - Kendra Murphy 2-5 0-0 4, Jordan Woodvine 5-9 1-3 13, Shaelie Burgess 3-9 0-0 6, Shawnie Spink 2-7 2-5 10, Bri Turner 2-4 0-0 4. Totals: 14-49 3-15.

MSU-N - Hailey Nicholson 2-6 0-0 4, Sydney Hovde 1-2 0-0 2, Allix Goldhahn 1-6 0-2 2, McKenzie Gunter 4-9 1-3 11, Peyton Kehr 5-12 2-6 16, Kenya Lorton 7-11 1-3 17, Petra Sellin 1-1 0-0 2, Ryley Kehr 1-2 0-0 2, Morgan Mason 1-3 0-1 2, Tiara Gilham 3-6 0-1 6. Totals: 26-58 4-16.

3-pointers: COR 3-15 (Spink 2, Woodvine 1), MSU-N 4-16 (Gunter 1, Lorton 1, P. Kehr 2). Rebounds: COR 33 (Murphy 7, Burgess 7, Pilgeram 5, Hanson 4, Norris 4, Woodvine 3, Turner 2, Ferry 1), MSU-N 29 (Hovde 7, H. Nicholson 5, Gilham 5, Goldhahn 4, J. Nicholson 3, P. Kehr 2, Lorton 1, Sellin 1, R. Kehr). Fouls: COR 15, MSU-N 21. Fouled out: Gunter.

Montana State 93, Skylights 34

MSU-Northern 3 5 19 7 - 34

Montana St. 20 27 24 22 - 93

MSU-N - McKenzie Gunter 20, Hailey Nicholson 6, Sydney Hovde 1, Tiara Gilham 5, Jada Nicholson 2. Totals: 8-42 17-23.

MSU - Oliana Squires 14, Darian White 14, Madeline Smith 11, Fallyn Freije 8, Martha Kuderer 6, Tori Martell 12, Madison Jackson 8, Blaire Braxton 6, Kola Bad Bear 6, Sidney Zieske 6,, Gabby Mochhi 2. Totals: 36-73 12-17.