Box Score Helena, Mont.-  The No. 11 Skylights picked up a big win in their last non-conference game of the season in Helena Monday night as they rallied past the University of Willamette Bearcats 56-49.

Northern battled back from being down by one point with 3:35 left in the fourth quarter to pull out the victory over the NCAA DIII Bearcats.  The Skylights improve their record to 11-2 (1-1 Frontier Conference).

The Skylights were led in scoring by senior guard Natalee Faupel with 30 points.  She went 12-22 (3-4 from the three point line) in the contest while also collecting 9 rebounds.  She was joined by senior guard Molly Kreycik who finished 11 points and five rebounds.

Northern battled Willamette in the first quarter and exchanged the lead twice.  A buzzer-beater jump shot from the baseline by junior guard Jacy Thompson put the Skylights up 13-10.  Both Faupel and Kreycik connected on 3-pointers in the second quarter while the Northern defense only allowed the Bearcats to score nine points in the stanza to send the Skylights into the locker room at the half with a 29-19 lead.

UW went on a 10-0 run at the end of the third quarter and start of the fourth to take a 43-42 lead over MSUN.  After two more lead changes in the fourth, the Skylights made a final push with 2:54 left in the game.  Faupel scored 10 of her 30 points in the closing minutes of the game to lead her team to victory.

On the night, Northern went 20-56 from the field and hit five 3-pointers.  They also out-rebounded Willamette 38-31 and held the Bearcats to shooting just 18 percent from beyond the arc.

The Skylights will start 2017 off with a road trip to Great Falls on January 5 to take on Frontier Conference rival UGF.  Tip-off is scheduled for 5:30 pm.  Live stat and video stream links are located on the Skylight's schedule page.