Northern women continue to battle as Saints, Argos come to town

The Montana State University-Northern Skylights are working hard to get that elusive first Frontier Conference win of 2023. And they'd love nothing more than for it to come against their biggest rival.

Tonight, MSU-N continues a four-game homestead when the Skylights (0-10, 7-16) host the No. 15 Carroll College Fighting Saints. Tip-off is set for 5 in the Armory Gymnasium, where Northern will also host Providence Saturday afternoon.

And with just three total home games left, Northern is fighting hard to turn things around.

"In both games, we are going to need to execute at the offensive end and rebound," MSU-N head coach Chris Mouat said. "Both of these teams are very good on the boards and will be crashing all night long. Limiting them to one shot will be vital, as both teams score a lot of points on second-chance opportunities. Both teams will also apply a lot of defensive pressure in full and half-court, so we will need to continue to focus on limiting turnovers. Carroll and Providence both have a lot of experience in their lineups and both lineups are filled with all-conference type kids. We will need to continue to grow and make forward progress at both ends of the floor."

Making progress means the Skylights need to find ways to shoot a little better, and finish games when they have the chances, as Mouat has previously stated. The Skylights average 60 points per game and are shooting 41 percent from the field, while also pulling down 34 rebounds per right. Offensively, Briaunna McCullough averages 13 points per night, while Ryley Kehr and Shyan Krass each score 10. Northern has also been getting solid contributions from Savannah Toms of late, while newcomer Taniyah Finney should start to see more time on the floor.

Of course, Northern's drive toward climbing the Frontier ladder has been hampered by injuries to key players, including point guard Taya Trottier, as well as the fact that the Frontier is absolutely loaded once again.

Tonight's opponent, Carroll (9-1, 18-5) has two double-digit wins over the Skylights thus far, and is led by All-American Jamie Pickens, as well former Havre Blue Pony Kyndall Keller, the Saints are making their second trip to Havre this season.

"Carroll is playing as well as anyone in the nation right now," Mouat said. "They are, in my opinion, a top five team. They have all of the pieces with plenty of experience and are defending at an extremely high level. They rebound very well at both ends and are really physical. They are also executing on offense really well and pick up offensive boards to keep possessions alive. They are deep in the post and on the perimeter. We will have to do a good job of handling their pressure and limiting them to one shot. "

And as if the Saints weren't tough enough, Providence (3-7, 13-10) won't make things any easier on Northern Saturday. The Argos have already beaten Northern twice in Great Falls, and, led by Maddie Dixon's 12 points and nine rebounds per night, UP is making its only appearance in the Armory this season.

"Providence has a ton of weapons who can hurt you," Mouat said. "They play fast and get up and down the floor very well in transition and really hurt us on the break in the last game. Every player in their starting lineup is capable of big nights offensively, so we must do a better job at the defensive end than we did in the last game in Great Falls."

The Skylights play Carroll tonight at 5 in the Armory and will meet the Argos Saturday at 2 p.m.