GREAT FALLS — The Providence women's basketball team entered the year ranked No. 2 in the NAIA preseason coaches poll following a run to the national championship game last season where it would lose to Dordt (Iowa).
It would take a while for the currently 25th-ranked Argos to really hit their stride, as they started out 1-4 in the first round of Frontier Conference games. Since then, though, they've reeled off seven of the last eight and can guarantee a top-two finish in the league with a 2-0 week in the final pair of regular-season games.
"On the road is tough," preseason conference player of the year Ashlee Maldonado said Tuesday at the McLaughlin Center. "(MSU-Northern and Montana Tech) are going to bring their crowd, and we just got to bring our energy, stick to us, stick to our game plan."
"We are still yet to play our best basketball, but, I mean, we are also a pretty good team," preseason all-conference selection Keanna Salave'a said. "I think it's just only going up from here, because we know every game matters at this point."
Maldonado and Salave'a have been pivotal parts of Providence's turnaround, although, as mentioned, the final two games are away from home.
Both know how pivotal these next two contests are.
"We're 2-0 with Northern and then 0-2 with Tech," Maldonado said. "Can't overlook them. They're both going to be solid. They're going to bring their best game, I'm sure."
"Winning in the Frontier Conference is hard, but just one game at a time," Salave'a said. "Northern, they're a great team. Can't overlook them. We got Tech that we still haven't beat, so I think it's just taking it one game at a time, one practice at a time."
Head coach Bill Himmelberg also expressed how important the week is.
"Our girls need to come out focused, ready to go," Himmelberg said. "We've been leaning into our defense all year long, so we need to come out and defend at a pace, and then knock down some shots. A team that makes most shots is probably going to win, so we got to make more shots than (Northern and Tech)."
Providence can at-best finish tied for the conference title if it finishes 2-0 this week due to tiebreakers over both Carroll and Rocky, which play each other Thursday night.
Maldonado, Salave'a and Himmelberg all said it's a goal each year to get a top-two seed in conference play, and they know what that would do for the Argos moving forward.
"(Carroll and Rocky) are great teams, we're also a great team," Maldonado said. "It can be anyone's night in Frontier Conference, and so just knowing that we have those wins is great, but I think we have to keep pushing for these next two teams coming up, and staying focused."
"It gives us a lot of confidence to know that we can play with the top two in our conference right now," Salave'a said.
"It's imperative," Himmelberg said of getting a first-round bye in the conference tournament. "It's something we always shoot for every year, and I think it's going to be really important that we get that."
Providence hits the road for Northern Thursday night and Tech Saturday afternoon to wrap up the regular season.
