Havre, Mont.-  The NAIA Game of the Week doesn't come to Havre, Montana, too often. But the one that did Saturday night lived up to the hype. Unfortunately for the Montana State University-Northern Skylights, they were on the wrong end of the outcome.

Despite a Herculean effort from Natalee Faupel, the No. 11 Skylights just couldn't get the stops they needed against the No. 2 Lewis-Clark State Warriors in a 75-66 loss inside the Armory Gymnasium. The win was undefeated LC State's 21st in a row, while the Skylights dipped to 5-3 in the Frontier Conference.

"Our kids battled," Northern head coach Chris Mouat said. "I'm not disappointed in the effort. They (Warriors) are a great team, and we knew it would take our very best effort and our kids gave that tonight. But in the end, we also have to play better, we have to execute better. But no doubt, I'm very proud of the way our kids battled."

Northern did battle, to the very end, but, LC State, which leads the NAIA in scoring and field goal percentage, as well a host of other categories, was able to solve the Skylights' nationally ranked defense when it mattered most.

Northern led 8-6 in the first quarter, but a Megan Risinger 3-pointer capped a 10-0 Warrior run, giving LCSC an 18-14 lead at the end of the first period. The second stanza was similar. Early buckets by Faupel and Sierra Richards gave the Skylights the lead back, but the inside play of Jossilyn Blackman and a triple by Lauren Johnson helped LC finish the half on a 16-5 run. Johnson, Blackman and Hailey Turner were a shining example of LC State's talent and depth, as leading scorers Caelyn Orlandi and Brittany Tackett were held to just six points in the first half, and yet, LC led 38-27 at the break.

"We rolled the dice tonight," Mouat said. "LC is one of the best 3-point shooting teams in the country. They are a great shooting team, so we wanted to guard the perimeter, and we did a great job of that. We limited them to five 3-point attempts. But that also left us in a lot of one-and-one matches inside, and they (Warriors) made the most of a lot of them. They finished really well around the rim, like they have done all season."

But as strong as LC was inside, Northern never, ever went away, on either end of the floor. Faupel tried her best to take over the game, scoring 10 points in a six-minute stretch in the third period, but LC continued to answer, as Tackett scored the final eight points of the quarter. Northern had cut the Warrior lead to four three different times in the period, but with Tackett's late flurry, the Warriors still led 55-48 with 10 minutes to go.

Tackett continued her fine play in the fourth, and Orlandi heated up as well, helping the Warriors push their lead back to as many 10 points with 2:58 to go. However, Northern showed its grit down the stretch as Cydney Auzenne hit two bombs, the second of which cut the lead to 69-64 with :48 left. And still, LC stood just too tall as the Warriors made eight free throws in the final minute to salt the game away and put four games between themselves and the Skylights in the Frontier standings.

"They (Warriors) showed how talented and deep they are tonight," Mouat said. "They have a lot of depth and they keep coming at you. Caelyn Orlandi made some amazing plays down the stretch and Brittany Tackett finished, but I thought their depth was also big tonight."

Faupel was big for Northern, scoring 27 points and grabbing seven boards, leaving her six points away from breaking MSU-N's all-time scoring record. Richards also came up clutch with 10 points and 12 rebounds, while Auzenne added 12. But in the end, LC State's talent came through. The Warriors shot 51 percent for the game, made 13 free throws and got 18 points from Tackett, 13 by Orlandi, 11 each from Natahnee Spencer and Risinger and another nine from Blackman.

The loss was a tough one for the Skylights, especially knowing they have to go back to LC State in just three weeks. But Mouat also said his team will learn a lot from the game.

"Again, the effort and the character our kids showed, was great," Mouat said. "But, it was disappointing to see us shoot 3-for-25 from three, and we missed a few layups, too. It's disappointing because I know we're better than that. And our kids know it, too. They are a hard-working group, and they understand we have to shoot it better than we did tonight. And they will work hard to make sure they do."

With the weekend split, Northern is now 5-3 in the Frontier and 15-4 overall. The Skylights will finish off their six-game home stand by hosting UGF this Thursday, followed by Carroll College Friday night.

STORY BY GEORGE FERGUSON, Havre Daily News