HAVRE, Mont. – The #22 University of Providence women's basketball team staved off a late comeback attempt from MSU-Northern Thursday, defeating the Skylights (7-14, 0-7) 80-68 in Havre.The win is the tenth straight win for the squad - the team's last loss was Dec. 2 to Rocky Mountain College. 

The Argos (19-3, 6-1) entered the fourth quarter up 18 points, but the Skylights came clawing back early, cutting the lead to seven with 7:04 remaining. The Argos responded with a 9-2 run of their own, firmly solidifying the victory.

"It's really hard to win at Northern," assistant coach JC Isakson said. "They're a well-coached team and they made shots tonight. They executed their stuff and we fouled too much so we put them on the line."

Parker Esary was dominant during the game, finishing with 25 points and 12 rebounds on 10 of 15 shooting from the field. Reed Hazard and Emilee Maldonado both turned in productive games as well; Hazard finished with 19 points and four boards while Maldonado finished with 19 points, seven assists and four rebounds.

"We knew we had to go through Parker," Isakson said. "She needed to have touches. We got her the ball and she made plays. Emilee did her thing. Every night it's a different girl stepping into that third role. Tonight it was Reed Hazard and that was the difference in the game."

L'Tia Lawrence led the Lights with 16 points on the night. Peyton Kehr added 15 points while Sydney Hovde added 12.

The Argos will head home quickly as they prepare for another ranked showdown on Saturday against #25 Montana Western in Dillon. 

"We're going to get home and get some rest," Isakson said. "We'll go home, watch film, make our game plan, get the girls some treatment. We'll get on the bus and go play. We have a short turnaround but so does Western. It's about getting some rest in that off day and being ready to go on Saturday."