In a matchup of the No. 5 versus the No. 4 seed in the Frontier Conference tournament, it was the MSU-Northern Skylights basketball team pulling out the upset of Montana Tech, (76-73), eliminating the Lady Orediggers from playoff contention.
The first half started out insanely tight with the Lady Orediggers protecting a 1-point lead at the end of the first and the Skylights jumping out in front after two, (38-36).
The third quarter belonged to Tech as the Lady Orediggers were a plus-eight in the 10 minutes coming out of halftime thanks to a (13-0) run to push their largest lead of the game to nine. Northern answered right back, missing just three field goals in the final 10 minutes and using a (9-2) run to get in front.
Taya Trottier and Canzas HisBadHorse had clutch baskets down the stretch as the Skylights hung in. Liv Wangerin banked in a 3-pointers with 2.4 seconds to go and it was a 1-point game. Trottier moved to the other end after getting fouled and sank two free throws. Wangerin came back and nearly made a half court heave to send the game into overtime, but the shot fell off the rim and Northern survived.
HisBadHorse put together another stellar performance, leading the way with 19 points. She was joined by four Skylights in double-figures as Katelynn Forner scored 14 points including a steal and layup late in the game. Trottier went 4-for-4 from the line and had 11, while Shyan Krass put in 10 points.
As a result of Carroll beating Montana Western, Northern will face the winners of the Frontier Conference regular season in Rocky Mountain College. That game is set for Monday at noon. Noah Friedman will be on hand to broadcast on KPQX-92.5FM and HiLineToday.com.
