GREAT FALLS, Mont. – The Corban University women's basketball team couldn't recover from an early deficit and fell to No. 21 Montana State University-Northern, 71-53, on Friday night in the team's first contest at the Holiday Inn Classic.

"We played really hard, but shots that went down last week weren't falling today," said head coach Dave Bale. "Montana State-Northern is a very good team and were well-deserving of their No. 21 ranking in NAIA Division-I."

In the first 12 minutes of action, the Navy and Gold (2-2) turned the ball over seven times and fell behind the Skylights, 31-10. With 3:19 remaining in the first half, sophomore forward Sadie Pilgeram (Helena, Mont.) nailed a jumper in the paint, and then junior guard Jade Lowery (Oregon City, Ore.) drained a three-pointer at the 1:37 mark to cut the deficit to 15 (36-21). The Warriors trailed at intermission, 36-22.

With 14:31 remaining in the contest, senior guard Haley Holboke (Vancouver, Wash.) scored in the paint to trim the Skylights' lead to 14 (46-32), but the Warriors never got any closer. After Lowery's three-pointer found the bottom of the net to bring Corban back to within 14 (57-43) with 9:51 remaining, the Skylights closed the game on a 14-10 run to keep the Warriors at bay.

Shooting percentage played a major factor in determining the contest, as Corban shot just 38.0% (19-for-50) from the field compared to a 49.2% clip (30-for-61) by MSU-Northern. The Skylights edged the Warriors on the glass, 36-31, and MSU-Northern had 18 assists compared to six by Corban.

Lowery and senior center Tara Van Weerdhuizen (Spokane, Wash.) paced the Warriors with 14 points apiece. Both Pilgeram and sophomore forward Payton Wilcox (Salem, Ore.) added seven points each, and Holboke grabbed a team-high five rebounds.

"Jade [Lowery] had a solid game shooting the ball, and both Tara [Van Weerdhuizen] and Danielle [Vanderstoel] did a nice job on their 6'5 post player," commented Bale.

MSU-Northern (9-0) was led by senior forward A'Jha Edwards, as she notched a double-double with 17 points and 12 rebounds.

The Warriors return to the hardwood tomorrow to round out the Holiday Inn Classic against the University of Great Falls (Mont.) at 3 p.m.