The Montana State University-Northern Skylights picked up their first win of the 2025-26 season in convincing fashion on Friday night, defeating (RV) Wayland Baptist University 67-41 in Great Falls.

The Skylights jumped out to an early lead and never looked back, using a balanced attack and stifling defense to take control. Northern led 14-7 after the first quarter, setting the tone with crisp ball movement and efficient shooting.

In the second quarter, the Skylights locked in defensively, holding the Pioneers to just nine points in the period. Northern's energy on both ends of the floor helped extend the lead to 30-16 at halftime.

Coming out of the break, the Skylights caught fire offensively. They poured in 24 points in the third quarter while continuing to pressure Wayland into difficult shots. By the end of the frame, Northern had built a 54-30 advantage and cruised through the final quarter to seal the 67-41 victory.

Leading the way for the Skylights was Becky Melcher, who was nearly unstoppable from deep—scoring 21 points on 7-of-8 shooting from the field and an impressive 6-of-7 from beyond the arc. Ciera Agasiva added 12 points, seven rebounds, and three assists, while Lauren Gunn filled the stat sheet with seven points, six rebounds, and five assists.

As a team, Northern shot 43 percent from the field and 50 percent from three-point range (9-of-18). The Skylights dominated the boards, outrebounding Wayland 39-26, and shared the ball effectively with 19 assists on 25 made shots.

Wayland Baptist was led by Bella Dabbs, who scored 10 points, and Heaven Hayden, who added six. The Queens shot just 23 percent from the field and 21 percent from deep, struggling to find offensive consistency against Northerns pressure defense.

With the win, Montana State-Northern improves to 1-1 on the season and looks to build momentum into their first conference game next week against Providence on November 13 at 5pm in Great Falls.