The Skylights of MSU-Northern basketball are coming off a hard-fought loss to Providence over the weekend. New Media Broadcasters caught up with head coach Chris Mouat after the game and he shared how his team battled back from down double-digits in the first half to make a game of it.
“I thought we really battled to get back in that game,” Mouat said. “(We) hit some big shots (and) got some stops.”
“Obviously, (Providence is) very talented,” Mouat continued. “(Ashlee) Maldanado is as good as there is in our league. They’re a good team.”
“For us to guard them, that’s what we had to do,” Mouat said. “One stop at a time. I give our kids a lot of credit because lesser teams would have folded early and it would have been a 35-point game because (Providence has) that capability. We hung in there and gave ourselves a chance in the end. There were a couple of tough breaks (and) you have to be able to play through it.”
One of the ways the Skylights played well in the second half was by shooting, which has been an Achilles heal all season long. Mouat praised his team’s effort in that aspect.
“(It was) a short turnaround after the game on Thursday (at home against Rocky Mountain College) and (the Skylights players) wanted (this game) really bad,” Mouat said. “There’s fixable things out there and that’s what we have to continue to focus on.”
“If we shoot the ball like we did (in this game), we’re going to be in almost every game we play all season long because we shot it well from everywhere,” Mouat continued. “I’m proud of our kids for that, but we have to take care of (the ball) a little better (, too).”
Mouat and the Skylights will look to play off the momentum when they host the No. 1 team in the Frontier Conference. Carroll College comes to town on Thursday evening.
