Dawgs eliminate Skylights from playoffs

It's been a tough second half of the season for the Montana State University-Northern Skylights. And that tough stretch came to an end Wednesday night in Dillon.

In the opening round of the Frontier Conference women's playoffs, the Skylights fell to the No. 17 Montana Western Bulldogs 62-48, effectively ending Northern's season.

And it was a season where the Skylights, once ranked No. 11 in the NAIA, were riddled with devastating injuries, including losing their top three scorers to season-ending injuries. And eventually, those losses caught up with Northern, including against the Bulldogs.

And while Western pulled away for the win, Northern did put up a great fight in the first half. The Skylights went on an 18-10 run in the second quarter to lead the defending national champions 27-24 at the break.

"I was really proud of the way our kids came out ready to go tonight," Northern head coach Chris Mouat said. "I thought we employed really well defensively, and we made it very tough on Western. But, the third quarter, they came out hot, and we didn't answer. You have to answer when they get going like that, and we didn't do that. We didn't put points in the board in the second half, and they did."

The Dawgs did come out hot. They went on a 20-6 run, including hitting a shot at the third-quarter buzzer that completely flipped the script on the game, as Northern went from up three to start the period, to down 11 points with just eight minutes to go. And as hard as the Skylights fought, they just didn't shoot it well enough to come back. Northern ended up shooting 35 percent for the game, but they made just six field goals in the second half and were outscored by the Bulldogs 38-21 in the final 16 minutes.

Peyton Kehr paced MSU-N with 11 points, while Kenya Lorton added nine. Western, which advanced to the Frontier semifinals, got a game-high 24 points from Brynley Fitzgerald, as well as 12 by Gracey Meyer.

The Dawgs will take on Lewis-Clark State in one semifinal while Providence will travel to top-seeded Carroll for the second semifinal Saturday night.

Meanwhile, Northern's season came to an end with a 15-16 record, and while it was a tough one for the Skylights, Mouat will always remember how tough and together his team was through the trying times.

"We had the highest of highs and the lowest of lows this season," he said. "But through all of it, our kids maintained their composure and their commitment to this program and to each other. They came to work every day, and gave a maximum effort every night, and for that, I'll always be proud of them.

"Of course we'd like to win more games," he continued. "And we'll figure that out moving forward. But the kids that suited up for us this year, they left it all on the floor every single day, and I'm so proud of them for that."

Western 62, Skylights 48

MSU-Northern 9 18 6 15 - 48

Montana Western 14 10 20 18 - 62

MSU-N - Peyton Kehr 4-9 2-2 11, Sydney Hovde 3-4 2-2 8, Hailey Nicholson 1-4 3-3 5, Allix Goldhahn 2-8 2-4 7, Petra Sellin 1-1 0-0 2, Jada Nicholson 1-3 0-0 2, Morgan Mason 0-2 0-0 0, Mckenzie Gunter 0-0 0-0 0, Ryley Kehr 2-4 0-0 4, Reilly Walsh 0-5 0-0 0, Kenya Lorton 3-8 1-1 9. Totals 17-48 10-12 48.

MW - Savanna Bignell 5-9 0-0 12, Paige Holmes 2-2 1-2 6, Mesa King 1-5 0-0 2, Jenni Weber 0-2 0-0 0, Sydney Sheridan 1-3 0-0 2, Lilly Gopher 0-0 0-0 0, Shainy Mack 2-3 0-0 4, Gracey Meyer 5-12 2-2 12, Natali Denning 0-0 0-0 0, Brynley Fitzgerald 7-14 5-5 24. Totals 23-50 8-9 62.

3-pt FG:Montana State-Northern 4-18 (Kehr 1-3, Goldhahn 1-5, Nicholson 0-1, Mason 0-1, Kehr 0-1, Walsh 0-1, Lorton 2-6), Montana Western 8-20 (Bignell 2-5, Holmes 1-1, Weber 0-2, Sheridan 0-1, Mack 0-1, Meyer 0-2, Fitzgerald 5-8). Rebounds: Montana State-Northern 25 (Hovde 7), Montana Western 27 (King 12). Fouls Montana State-Northern 13, Montana Western 15. Fouled out: none.