HAVRE, Mont. – With a 56-48 win over (21) Montana State University-Northern, the (RV) University of Providence women's basketball team did something it essentially never does. For the first time since the program won the Frontier Conference in 1985, the Lady Argos beat MSU-Northern in Havre. The win was also the team's second against a ranked opponent in 2017-18 and brings the team's conference record to 2-1, already guaranteeing a better conference record than the previous year. 
 
"I don't even know what to say, I'm speechless right now, I'm so proud these kids," Head Coach Bill Himmelberg said. "I thought tonight was the first time we really played 40 minutes. We played hard and competed the whole time. I thought we did a great job defensively and with our rebounding."
 
Defense  was the key for the Lady Argos. The team did an excellent job shutting down MSUN's potent scoring trio of Peyton Filius, Shiloh McCormick, and Jacy Thompson. So far in  2017-18  the three have averaged a combined 39 points per game, over half of the  team's  per game average. Against UP, they combined for 15 points including 0 points for Thompson, who failed to score in a game for the first time in her four years of collegiate play.
 
The first quarter was back and forth with the Lights taking a slim leading into the second period. MSUN would hold that lead for the rest of the half, but it would never get bigger than 7 points and soon was worked back down to 2 before the half with a three from sophomore Jenna Randich.
 
A layup from senior guard Stephanie McDonagh with just under 4 minutes to go in the third quarter game UP its first lead since seven and a half minutes into the game. UP led by just 1 point entering the final 10 minutes, but Northern rallied to regain the lead in the first few minutes of the fourth quarter.  
 
Freshman  post Parker  Esary hit a layup with 6: 45 on the clock that sparked an 8-0 run that was essentially the final push that won UP the game. A three from Northern with just over a minute left did narrow the game to 3 points, but McDonagh in a three of her own on an extended UP possession to close the game.
 
In the end, it was a poor shooting night for both teams. UP shot 36 percent from the field, while Northern hit just 27.8 percent of its shots. The worst shooting period for either team was MSUN's fourth quarter in which the team went 2-13 from the field.
 
For the first time all season, sophomore Jenna Randich led the Lady Argos in scoring, hitting 5-9 from the field including 3-5 from three for 15 points and 3 assists. Esary and McDonagh weren't far behind, each scoring 13 points and adding some other impressive statistics as well.
 
Esary was one of three Lady Argos to finish with 10 rebounds, good for her second double-double of her career. Both of those double-doubles have come in conference play.
 
McDonagh, on the other  hand  was the one guarding and stopping Jacy Thompson all night. She also added 4 rebounds, 4 assists, and 2 steals to her totals.
 
UP's record goes to 11-3 (2-1) on the year, with a home game against Montana Tech coming up next. That game will be on Saturday, January 6 at 5:30 p.m.