Montana State Northern Lights & Skylights Athletics

Jodi Kruta was a recruit from Thief River Falls, Minnesota and played for the MSU-Northern Skylights basketball team from 1992 to 1996. As a three year starter, she played a key role in the four Frontier Conference Championships, four National Tournament appearances, and the 1993 District 12 Tournament and the 1993 National Championship for the Skylights. This is still the only National Championship to date of any Frontier Conference Women’s Basketball team. During this time, the teams won 100 games with only 18 losses. Kruta is the Skylights second all-time leading scorer with 1562 points and is one of only 9 Skylights to be an NAIA All-American. Her senior year she was an All American Honorable Mention, First Team All-Conference, and First Team Pacific Northwest Region. She was named the Frontier Conference Player of the Week four times during her career. The Skylights teams she played on also won the Bahamas Tournament in 1993, The Colorado College Holiday Tournament in 1994, and the Pacific Northwest Regional Championship in 1996. Kruta graduated in 1997 with a degree in Health and Physical Education. She lived in Norway to play team handball and became a member of the 1999 USA Team Handball National Team. She participated in the 1999 Pan American Games placing 4th in an attempt to qualify for the 2000 Olympic Games. She is currently teaching 6th-8th grade Physical Education and Health in Lovinggood Middle School in Georgia.