Box Score GREAT FALLS, Mont. – The University of Providence women's basketball rode the hot hand of Emilee Maldonado Thursday night, who scored 27 points while leading the Argos to a 68-64 victory over #11 Montana State Northern.

The Frontier Conference preseason player of the year finished the night with 27 points, 4 assists, 4 rebounds and 4 steals. She went 11 of 14 (79 %) from the floor, including 3 of 4 from beyond the arc. Her free throw with 7 seconds left sealed the victory for the Argos.

"We needed her to step up and be big tonight and she was able to do that," head coach Bill Himmelberg said. "She was able to get to the rim whenever she wanted, make shots. When she's playing like that we're really tough to beat."

The win was a critical one for the Argos. Entering the contest, the Argos were the only winless team in the Frontier Conference.

"This was an important one for us to get," Himmelberg said. "This gets us rolling in conference. Northern is a very tough team. I thought our girls came out and competed the entire game."

The Skylights were led by Mckenzie Gunter, who scored 15 points and grabbed five rebounds. Allix Goldhan scored 14 points and grabbed 11 rebounds, while Hailey Nicholson scored 14 points and grabbed nine rebounds.

The Argos hope to keep the momentum rolling on Saturday, when they travel down to Helena to face off against Carroll. The game against the Fighting Saints marks the beginning of the four-game road trip for the Argos.

"We've won three in a row so we're rolling a little bit," Himmelberg said. "But we got a tough one against Carroll. This is the hardest stretch of our conference right now. It's still really early in the season but we got four road games. We have to find a way to go on the road and get some victories.