Northern
steps up play to defeat UGF
By Ryan Divish/Havre Daily News
Sports Editor/rdivish@havredailynews.com
There are two reactions to losing a key player: Let it affect you and play
worse, or shake it off and raise your level of play.
The members of the Montana State University-Northern women's basketball team
chose the latter on Saturday night in a 98-88 win over the
Northern played its final game of the regular season without starting center
Megan Valgardson, after head coach
With their tallest and most dominant inside player in street clothes on the
bench and leading scorer Jessi Reome
riddled with back pain, the Skylights played small ball with a shorter lineup, that pushed, pressed and poured in points.
"We had players step it up and really play great," Erickson said.
"With Megan out, we knew we needed some players to rise to the occasion
and we got that."
Indeed, the Skylights had six players score in double figures, including
some season-best performances, as they looked ready to roll into this week's
Frontier Conference tournament.
Northern jumped out to an early lead behind blistering 60 percent shooting
in the first half, including 8-10 shooting from 3-point range.
"We came out and really got our transition game going and it led to
some easy scores," Erickson said. "That really got us going
offensively."
Unfortunately for the Skylights, the smaller lineup left them vulnerable
inside as UGF pounded away on the offensive boards and scored inside at will to
stay right with Northern.
"We gave up some stuff inside and some second-chance points,"
Erickson said. "We knew we would without Megan in there and having
sometimes four guards on the floor at once. But the girls really battled and
our offense kept us in it."
Playing
Northern was able to take a 50-42 lead in the final 30 seconds of the first
half with six straight points in the short amount of time.
"That little burst was big," Erickson said. "It pushed the lead
to eight points and really gave us a cushion going into the second half."
That cushion would prove vital as the
"We knew they were going to make some runs in the second half,"
Erickson said. "They have so many weapons. But we were able to hit some
big shots and maintain our lead."
Nobody hit bigger shots than Reome, who, despite
the ailing back, led the Skylights with 25 points off the bench, and 9-10
shooting, including 5-6 shooting from 3-point range.
Northern also got 18 points and seven rebounds from DeLayne Johnston, who
started in place of Valgardson.
"I think DeLayne played her best game of the season," Erickson
said. "She picked the right time to have it. She's really been playing
well in practice and it showed against UGF."
Despite early foul trouble, point guard Camille Gardner also had 18 points,
while adding seven assists.
In another breakout performance, sophomore Jena Heggem,
who started in place of Reome, had a season-best
performance with 13 points on 5-5 shooting and three 3-pointers.
"
Michele VanDyke and Jaci
Heny added 10 points each, and the duo combined for
12 rebounds and 14 assists.
As a team, Northern had a season-best 24 assists.
"We played so unselfishly tonight," Erickson said. "It was
really fun to watch. We were making the extra pass, getting open shots and
knocking them down."
UGF had four players in double figures, led by Dana Ball's 22 points. Former
Skylight Nichole Neill had 20 points, while Kim Freeman added 15 points and
eight rebounds in their final home game in
UGF finished the season with a 5-9 conference record and an 11-16 overall
record.
Northern finished its regular season in fourth place in the Frontier with a
9-5 record and 23-9 overall record. The Skylights will play fifth-place