Skylights face No. 17 Carroll, Rocky in key games
By Ryan Divish/Havre Daily News Sports Editor/rdivish@havredailynews.com
There is some consolation for the Montana State University-Northern women's
basketball team. It can't possibly get any worse than it did last Saturday
night for the Skylights in a disappointing 74-51 loss to UM-Western in Dillon.
It wasn't quite rock bottom for Northern, but it was down there a bit.
Fortunately, things are looking up as the Skylights return to Havre and the
MSU-Northern gym, where they've been basically unbeatable this season, for a
pair of big Frontier Conference games against
"In the game of basketball, anything is possible," said Skylights
head coach
Northern, currently tied for second in the conference with a 6-3 league record
and a 20-7 record overall, will need a positive attitude and its shots to be
falling in order to maintain its perfect 10-0 record at home on Friday night
against conference leader and 17th-ranked Carroll College.
The Saints come into Havre with a sparkling 8-1 conference record and a 21-5
record overall. They sit alone atop the Frontier Conference, ahead of
UM-Western, Northern and
Carroll's only conference loss came at LC State early in the season. One of
their eight leagues wins is a 78-77 win in
"We definitely felt like we had our
chances to win the game," Erickson said. "We kind of let one slip
away. The girls are definitely excited to play Carroll again,
there really shouldn't be any problem for them to get up for this game."
If revenge or rivalry wasn't enough, a glance at the league and national
standings should offer some added motivation.
The Skylights still have an outside shot of winning the regular season title,
but a win over the Saints is a paramount to that happening.
Besides a league title, Northern could also still get an at large bid to the
NAIA national tournament in
"We want to go out and give ourselves a chance to finish out on top,"
Erickson said. "We know we can't really afford to lose to do that. We also
have given ourselves another way with a possible at-large bid."
But a win won't be easy, not even at home, against a very good Saints team.
Carroll leads the Frontier Conference in just about every several offensive
statistical categories, including points per game (82.4), scoring margin
(18.6), 3-pointers made (216) and 3-point field goal percentage (.391).
"There is a reason they are first in the conference," Erickson said.
"They have a very good team with some individuals."
Leading that group is senior Emili Woody, a definite
candidate for league MVP honors.
Woody averages 15.5 points, 10.5 rebounds and 2.2 steals per game. She can beat
you inside or outside and is a ferocious competitor.
Also contributing is former Havre High standout Jolene Fuzesy,
who is having a solid freshman campaign. Fuzesy is
averaging 13.5 points per game and is shooting 48 percent from 3-point range,
having made 53 3's on the season. Carroll is also getting 12.3 points a game
from Andrea Hall.
"We made some little mistakes that really cost us against Carroll,"
Erickson said. "We know we can't to that again. I really feel like its
going to come down making free throws, not allowing them to get the free-throw
line and rebounding, which is something we haven't done well this season."
Erickson might be selling his team's rebounding prowess a little short. The
Skylights average 35.6 rebounds per game.
However, Carroll ranks second in the league at 43.4 rebounds per game. In the
games Northern has struggled, it has been beaten bad
on the boards. In the loss to Western, the Skylights gave up 25 offensive
rebounds. It just simply can't happen against a Carroll squad that has a
penchant for scooping up offensive rebounds.
"The way their offense is set up, they seem to have one or two girls right under the basket any time a shot goes up,"
Erickson said. "And they are so aggressive, they
really believe every rebound is theirs. We've worked all week on being better on
the boards."
Northern will be looking for a little more revenge on Saturday night when they
take on
The Bears, 5-4 in conference and 9-14 overall, knocked off Northern 72-67
earlier this season in
As was the case against Carroll, Northern had a final shot to win the game, but
failed to convert.
"You look at that game, we really hurt ourselves at times," Erickson
said. "We didn't shoot the ball well at all and made some mistakes down
the stretch. That's something that will be big for us this weekend, we need to
play much smarter and make better decisions in the game's final minutes."
Rocky point guard Jenny Balgua, a former Skylight
herself, will be playing her final game against Northern - a prospect that
Erickson isn't exactly sad about.
Balgua is averaging 12.8 points, 3.6 assists and 2.6
steals per game. She's made 42 3-pointers on the season and is the unquestioned
leader of the Bears. Balgua scored 22 points and
dished out six assists in the team's first meeting. Every big shot Rocky needed
to stop a Skylight comeback, Balgua hit.
"We have to do a better job against Balgua,"
he said. "She killed us last time with her penetration and scoring. We
know she's a competitor and when she plays well she raises their team's level
of play."
Besides Balgua, Rocky gets 9.8 points a game from
Alyssa Root. The local duo of former Havre High standout Jeri Matter and Big
Sandy star Katherine Bitz combined to average 13
points and eight rebounds a game. Rocky will be without transfer Steph Neubauer, who is out with a
broken tailbone. But the Bears get contributions from Sarah Bills, Rae Dawn Lei
and
"They get a little bit of production from a lot of different
players," Erickson said. "But all of them are capable of big
games."
As a team, the Bears average 68.5 points per game and hit 41 percent of its
shots. They sit a game behind the Skylights in the Frontier standings and
Erickson knows his team can't overlook them.
"They already beat us once this season, there is nothing to say they can't
come in here and beat us again," Erickson said. "We have to show up
focused and ready to play."
One player that Erickson expects to be extremely focused on Saturday is senior
Megan Valgardson, who will be playing in her final
home game as a Skylight.
The 6-3 Valgardson is averaging 10.3 points and a
team-high 7.2 rebounds per game and has been a solid low-post presence in her
two years at Northern.
"It should be a sentimental night for Megan," Erickson said.
"She has made a big impact on this team and really helped to build this
program to where its at right now. Hopefully, we can
step it up and get a win for her in her last game."
Valgardson can and has dominated at times this
season. Erickson hopes for a couple of those performances this weekend.
"You hope she wants to make the most of her last games here," he
said. "Megan plays with a lot of pride and I am sure she will be ready to
go."
With their season wrapping up with three road games, Erickson and the Skylights
know the importance of making the most of their final home games.
"It's important to get a couple of wins so we can have some added
confidence when we head out on the road," Erickson said. "This is a
very important weekend for us."
The Skylights will tip off at
NOTES: Tonight the Northern programs will honor Bill Filler and Richard Hary, who passed away last year in between games.