HHS girls win on senior night

The Havre High girls basketball team needed a win. A win would give the Blue Ponies some momentum as they gear up for the postseason.

And they got that win on their last night in Havre.

Friday night at the Havre High gymnasium, the Blue Pony girls sent seniors Paighton Gilman and Christina Mack out with a much-needed victory as HHS beat Conrad 39-31 in a nonconference game.

Friday night's victory, on what is always an emotional night, also improved HHS to 4-13 as the Ponies prepare for one last regular season game this weekend. But perhaps more importantly, it gave Havre and head coach Dustin Kraske a good opportunity to start preparing for the postseason now.

"I was pleased with the way the girls played," Kraske said. "We tried some new things, some things we'll be doing at divisionals and it went well. We used some different girls on the floor at different times, and looked at some different lineups. And I thought the kids responded well."

The game with the Cowgirls was close early on. Conrad led 8-6 after the first eight minutes, but Havre responded with a quick 10 points in the second quarter to lead 16-13 at the break. Havre really turned things up in the second half, scoring 26 points and sealing the much-needed win.

Gilman, playing in her final game at home, scored 10 points and grabbed seven rebounds, but it was freshman Peyton Filius who was a catalyst for the Ponies. Filius scored 13 points while Jaclyn Evans also had a strong game, chipping in with 11. Evans and Filius each knocked down 3-pointers for the Ponies as well.

"I was pleased," Kraske said. "I thought we played a good game against a really tough team. We wanted a win, and we were able to accomplish that and I think we did some really good things in the game, things that I think will carry over to the divisional tournament."

Havre has one Central A Conference game left. The Ponies will travel to Browning to wrap up the regular season on Friday night.