Blue Pony girls host rival Eagles tonight

The holiday break is finally over. And for the Havre High girls basketball team, the break was productive, but it is time to get back on the court and see if the Blue Ponies can maintain the success they found prior.

Sitting at 2-0 in the Central A and 2-3 overall, the Blue Ponies are ready to get back to competition. Just before the break the Ponies dropped a tough 54-41 non conference game to Great Falls High, but the Ponies have showed steady progress with each and every game. Now coming out of a break where the Ponies saw plenty of preparation, including another stretch of two-a-days, HHS is set to take a couple more steps in the right direction.

Tonight the Ponies will host

Havre High's Jaclyn Evans (right) looks for a layup during a Central A girls game against Livingston last month in Havre. Tonight, the Blue Ponies host Central A rival Lewistown at 7.

the conference rival Lewistown Golden Eagles at the Havre High gymnasium at 7. And on Saturday, the Ponies will hit the road, taking on the Class B Shelby Coyotes in Shelby.

"We had some great practices over the break," Havre High head coach Dustin Kraske said. "The kids have been doing a great job and we are working well on a lot of things. It was a lot of fun for our kids I think, we practiced twice a day and it was fun to get back into a routine, but now I am ready to watch them play two teams that aren't us."

Both games should challenge the Ponies this weekend, but once again, the Ponies are more concerned with themselves rather than the opposing programs.

The Eagles have a talented team, led by McCalle Feller, Amanda Stenseth and Allie Adams. Feller is already averaging 10 points and nearly five rebounds per game. Kelsey Phillips has also emerged this season, averaging over seven points per game for the Eagles.

And for the Coyotes, they have some talent as well, including Katie Hayes, Kayla Leary, Kendra Nickol and Jordan Mahr. Those four were key in their only win of the season, defeating Rocky Boy just before their holiday break.

"We expect Lewistown to come in here ready to got," Kraske said. "It is their first conference game of the season and I know there is a lot of excitement that comes with that. We are going to have to play how we have been practicing, and that is really our goal for both games this weekend. We need to put what we have been practicing to use on the floor whenever we paly a game, and to me that is a sign of a team that is maturing and developing, and that is what we are striving to do this weekend."

Focusing on themselves has proven to be a useful strategy for the Ponies and will get two more tests this weekend.

HHS knows what each team brings to the table, but they aren't letting that alter their own game plan. The Ponies have found good production on both offense and defense in a number of looks and styles this season, and that is due to their game management.

When the Ponies take the floor they have a barrage of weapons up their sleeves. They can hurt a team pounding the ball inside with Sammy Evans and Neya Bischoff, or can hit the outside shot with Brandy Lambourne, Peyton FIlius and Chanal Standing Rock. And on defense, the Ponies have their full court press and sturdy half court man-to-man defense to rely on. Whichever way you slice it, the Ponies can take the floor, see what and who they have to match up with, and move from there.

"I would just rather have our kids ready to play against anything any team can do and just play to our ability," Kraske said. "We are trying to take the approach of focusing on more ourselves and how our kids can get better. That doesn't mean we aren't going to prepare by any means, but in addition, the focus will be on us. What do we do well and not well? And what does the other team expose that we have to do better? That is how we are striving to improve."

Both of the weekend's games are winnable for the Ponies. The Eagles will push the Ponies at home, and HHS will have to play well on the road to get a win over the Coyotes in a tough environment. But if the Ponies can put together what they have worked on during the break, and keep their team oriented mentality in tact, HHS has a solid chance of improving to 4-3 this weekend.

Tonight at 7 p.m. the Ponie swill host the Eagles at the Havre High gymnasium, and Saturday the Ponies will be in Shelby to take on the Coyotes.