Big road games await Skylights, Lights Thursday night

Time is winding down on the Frontier Conference regular season and the clock is also ticking for the Montana State University-Northern men's and women's basketball teams.

Thursday night, both Northern squads are in Dillon for road games at Montana Western, and after a pair of sweeps last week, Northern needs wins in a big way.

The Skylights head to Western with a 4-7 record in the Frontier, but with a win tonight, they could make up some ground in a hurry. Just two weeks ago, the Skylights, led by Ryley Kehr and Shyan Krass, dominated the Bulldogs, and a road win tonight would give MSU-N the tiebreaker over Western in the upcoming playoffs.

It's the start of a huge week for Northern of head coach Chris Mouat, as the Skylights host rival Rocky Mountain College for Senior Day Saturday. Northern will honor Kehr, ShaAnn Danelson, Jalen Callender and Sydney Hansen and Dulci Skunkcap during what is sure to be a tough game against RMC.

"I'm really proud of this group," Mouat said. "They have battled to help turn corners this season, and they're a great group of teammates. On and off the court, they represented MSU-Northern, themselves, and their families extremely well.  All five of our seniors are great students as well, and all are set to get degrees and move into great things in life.

"Most have been academic all-conference and academic all-Americans during their time here. Three have received the Montana Campus Compact Athletes in Service Award for MSU-Northern, and two have already earned MSU-Northern Student Excellence awards," he said.

"I simply want to thank them all and enjoy what time we have remaining because I'm going to miss them all. These five young ladies are set for great things in life. Their commitment to me and to Northern are not lost on me for a second. I've been able to watch great growth and maturity in all of our seniors and appreciate the fact that they've continued to grind and work hard no matter what has been thrown at them. All have made their mark here in big ways," he added.

The Lights will honor their seniors against the Bears Saturday as well. Zackary Martinez and Myles Dalton are Northern's seniors this season, and the Lights are hoping to send them out with a win.

First though, MSU-N (2-9, 10-14) are hoping to get on track tonight at Western. Martinez is the Lights' leading scorer but it will take a big effort from the entire team to get the struggling Lights over the hump, as MSU-N has lost two close games to Western this season.

Northern visits Western Thursday with the women's game at 5 p.m., followed by the men's game at 7. Saturday's Senior Day games against RMC start with the women at 2 p.m. and the men at 4 p.m. in the Armory Gymnasium.