Skylights look to end losing skid with games in
By Ryan Divish/Havre Daily News Sports Editor/rdivish@havredailynews.com
In most situations, losing usually tears teams apart. But
not for the Montana State University-Northern women's basketball team.
Nope, losing has only brought the Skylights closer together.
After rolling to a 5-1 start, Northern received a bit of an eye-opener with
three consecutive losses last weekend on a four-day
"Honestly, I think we got more out of three losses than we would have if
we would have gotten three wins," said Skylights head coach Mike Erickson.
"It was an eye-opener for us. Our mindset has changed. We know it's going
to take a lot more hard work and discipline to win games."
Exactly what went wrong in
"In the games we've won this season, we've been down and pulled them out
in the last few minutes," Erickson said. "I think they thought it
would happen every night. But it didn't, and now they realize they can be
beat."
Still, even with the things that went wrong, there were plenty that went right.
"The ladies are still positive and
upbeat," Erickson said. "They are really starting to gel as a team.
If anything, it brought us closer together than spreading us apart. Hopefully,
it will pay dividends down the road."
Speaking of roads, the Skylights will be back on it again, well, sort of.
Northern will be in
"We're counting this as a homestand," he
said. "It seems like we play pretty good down there. The girls will get to
sleep in their own beds and we will have some fans there which always helps."
The Skylights will open the tournament tonight against Notre Dame De Namur University of Belmont, California. The
"They haven't had a lot of success in the past," Erickson said
"They are a very guard-oriented team that's quick and aggressive. They're
going to pressure us in the half-court."
Notre Dame features just one senior, transfer Elise De Groot,
who comes in after three years with Frontier foe
On Saturday, the Skylights will face their fifth DAC-10 team of the season in
the Black Hills State Yellowjackets. So far, Northern
is 1-3 against the DAC-10, but Erickson hopes their record will improve. It
won't be easy though. The Yellowjackets were picked
to finish fourth in the conference this season, after finishing third in the
conference last year with a 14-14 record.
BHS returns three starters from last year, led by 6-0 Becca
Walters, who averaged 10 points and 3.7 rebounds per game. The Jackets have
several key newcomers including 6-0 senior transfer guard Alisa Doolan and 6-2 guard Snjezana Dojcinovic of
"They're no pushover," Erickson said. "The size of their guards
is going to cause some match-up problems for us."
However, right now, Erickson is more concerned with his team. He is even
tweaking his offensive attack.
"We're going to a little more guard oriented with more of a motion
offense," Erickson said. "We're getting used to each other so we're
trying to give them a little more freedom on offense."
The biggest thing Erickson is looking for is that change in mindset.
"We need to come out focused and ready to play," he said. "We
can't sit back and hope to come back in the end. It has to start right
away."
Northern will tip off both nights at