Helena, Mont.-  The Montana State University-Northern women's basketball team continued to buck a big trend this weekend. They say it's hard to beat the same team three times in one season, especially a rival. But the Skylights did it for a second time in three days.

Playing its last road game of the regular season Saturday night in Helena, No. 15 MSU-N put together an incredible defensive effort in a 54-45 win over Carroll College. The win gave Northern three wins over Carroll, just two nights after MSU-N beat rival UGF for a third time. But more importantly, it also moved MSU-N to the 20-win mark on the season, and put the Skylights back in a tie with UM-Western for second place in the Frontier Conference heading into the final weekend of the regular season.

Northern hangs its hat on defense, and defense was the key Saturday night, as MSU-N held Carroll to a mere 13 points in the first half, while forcing 14 turnovers and limiting the Saints to just 35 percent shooting and four 3-pointers. Northern also held its own in the rebounding department, another Carroll staple.

"It doesn't happen very often. Carroll has a really good team," MSU-Northern coach Chris Mouat said. "They showed that in the fourth quarter when they came racing back on us and making shot after shot. They did a really good job. Any time you can beat them once is good. To beat them three times, that's pretty special. It's hard to do. It doesn't happen very often. We're happy. I'm proud of our kids for hanging in there and weathering the storm. Give Carroll a lot of credit. They didn't quit playing."

Carroll never quite, but the lead the Skylights built turned out to be insurmountable. Northern led 13-7 after the first quarter, 23-13 at halftime, and, for good measure, the Skylights held Carroll to just nine points in the third, and at one point, led by as many as 22 points. Carroll exploded for 23 points in the fourth stanza, but Northern had enough left in the tank to keep the Fighting Saints at bay.

"I thought our kids did such a great job of closing the game out," Mouat said. "They did a great job of getting that big lead, and I thought we were really good on the boards and that is so important against Carroll. But I was really proud of the way we closed them out. We knew they would make a run, and they finally did. But our kids are tough. They just keep fighting and they didn't panic when the run came. I'm just really proud of the way our kids responded to that."

Defensively, Northern was spectacular, while on the other end, Natalee Faupel scored a game-high 16 points, but, fellow seniors Molly Kreycik and Cydney Auzenne delivered, too. Kreycik scored 12, while Auzenne buried three 3-pointers and scored 11. On the other side, Northern held Carroll star Cassidy Hashley to just nine points and eight rebounds. Hashley came in averaging 14 points and 11 boards per game.

"I thought Molly and Cyd were really good in that game. Cyd came out and hit two huge threes to start the second half," Mouat said. "They really gave us a big spark offensively, and were a big reason why we were able to build such a big lead. Overall, though, everybody stepped up defensively and on the boards. It was another really good team win for us."

Indeed. It was a great team win, and now, Northern finally comes home. The Skylights ended their grueling six-game road trip with Saturday night's win and will close out the regular season with games against UM-Western this Friday and Rocky Mountain College Saturday night. Both games tip at 6 p.m. in the Armory Gymnasium, and the Skylights will be trying to secure the No. 2 seed in the upcoming Frontier Conference Tournament.

STORY BY GEORGE FERGUSON, Havre Daily News