Ponies trounce Browning in finale

It’s been a while, but the Havre High girls basketball team was faced with some doubt about whether or not the Blue Ponies would win the Central A regular season title.

But in the final game of the regular season, the Blue Ponies put that doubt to rest, and they did it rather quickly.

Saturday night at the Havre Central gymnasium, the Ponies hosted the conference rival Browning Indians. The winner would claim the No. 1 seed, the loser, the No. 2 seed in the upcoming Central A tournament. And in the regular season finale for both teams, it was the Ponies knocking off the Indians 61-32. The win gives the Ponies a 7-1 league record and 12-6 record overall, also holding the No. 1 seed heading into the Central A divisional tournament this weekend in Belgrade.

“The first quarter, we just came out and played fantastic,” Havre High head coach Dustin Kraske said. “We were patient, we made the extra pass and, on defense, we just looked really strong. It was nice, I think our girls did a really nice job. They played how we practiced. We practiced great this last week, and we expected to come out and play well too. We are healthy and ready to go.”

The result of the first quarter attack by the Ponies was a 21-8 lead over the Indians. But Havre played a great game all the way through as the points and strong defense kept coming, stretching the lead at almost every break. The Indians did outscore the Ponies 15-12 in the third period. And while the start to the game was impressive by the Ponies, so was the finish. HHS tagged a 19-point fourth quarter on the Indians to nearly double up the Browning effort. Tiera Gilham, the Indians’ best offensive weapon, did not play Saturday, and that did benefit the Ponies. Gilham’s 14 points per game could have made the game closer in the end, but the Ponies were clearly in control from start to finish.

If Gilham can return by this weekend, she and Kaylea Skunkcap could bring Browning back strong title contention. Skunkcap led the Indians with 17 points Saturday.

Meanwhile, Havre got a balanced attack. Peyton Filius led the offense with 16 points, but Dani Wagner grabbed 10 and Brandy Lambourne finished with nine. Morgan Mazurkiewicz finished with eight, while Haley Ohm scored six. It was a great outing as the Ponies got back on track offensivley and defensively, ending the season with two straight dominating wins.

“I think we are in the best spot we can be in heading into the tournament,” Kraske said. “We will play the winner of the four-five seed game (Belgrade/Livingston), so we will put a good week of practice together and get ready.”

Havre will get ready to head to Belgrade as the two-time defending Central A champions. The Blue Ponies will play either Livingston or Belgrade Friday in the semifinals. The 2014 Central A tournament starts on Thursday and runs through Saturday night at the Belgrade Special Events Center.

Havre 61, Browning 38

Browning 8 6 15 9 - 38

Havre 21 9 12 19 - 61

Browning – Rachel Heptner 4, Courtney Littledog 3, Hailey Jordon 4, Shelsey St. Goddard 1, Shelby St. Goddard 3, Cydnie Sharp 2, Ivannah Spotted Eagle 4, Kaylea Skunkcap 17. Totals: 13 6-18.

Havre – Brandy Lambourne 9, Dani Wagner 10, Morgan Mazurkewicz 8, Naomi Terry 2, Lacey Waid 5, Peyton Filius 16, Tori Mazurkewicz 3, Haley Ohm 6, Holly Purkett 2. Totals: 21 13-19.

Total fouls – Browning 16, Havre 18. Fouled out – Heptner. Three pointers – Spotted Eagle 1, Skunkcap 5, Lambourne 1, M. Mazurkewicz 2, Filius 3.