Pony girls look to corral M-Ettes tonight

The Havre High girls basketball team is coming off of game it would like to forget. And if the Blue Ponies want to get back into the win column, they will need to forget it almost instantly.

Tonight, the Central A Ponies (4-4) will host the Class B Malta M-Ettes (8-0), in the second meeting between the two Hi-Line rivals this season. Tip-off is set for 7 p.m. at the Havre High gymnasium.

In the Ponies' first game of the season, the M-Ettes defeated them 47-44 in Malta. And this time around the Ponies are coming off of one of their worst games of the season, a sluggish loss to the Conrad Cowgirls, 38-35 on Saturday in Conrad.

Havre High's Lacey Waid, left, plays defense during a recent game against the Shelby Coyotes in Havre. Tonight, the Blue Ponies are at home to take on one of Class B's best in the Malta M-Ettes. Tip is set for 7 at the HHS gymnasium.

"Things don't get any easier," Havre High head coach Dustin Kraske said. "We play (Monday), have three days of practice this week, play Friday and Saturday, then play again next Monday. We have a lot to do in short amount of time, but getting to play at home I think will help a little bit too."

The last time the Ponies and M-Ettes met, the M-Ettes used a big second half to edge the Ponies. Malta also utilized a talented zone defense to limit the Ponies to just 23 second half points. HHS doesn't have any reason to expect anything different than that same zone defense, but the Ponies shooters have to be ready to knock down shots. Brandy Lambourne and Peyton Filius are coming off of a game with a combined 10 points, but will be leaned on again tonight.

Defense will also be crucial for the Ponies, as they have the task of stopping Courtney Henry. She is one of the top players in the Class B ranks, and while she only scored four in their first meeting, she is still very dangerous. Brenna King and Mercedes both have great scoring abilities as well.

"Courtney Henry is arguably their best player," Kraske said. "But we haven't seem much from them since that first game of the season, but we have been doing our own thing. They are a good team and we are looking forward to playing them again."

For the Ponies to get back on track, they have get back to their style of play, and simply execute. They pressure defense should be enough to slow down the Malta offense the second time around, while Lambourne and Filius have been accented nicely by the scoring abilities of Morgan Mazurkiewicz, Lacey Waid and Neya Bischoff.

"I would think they (Malta) are playing better and I would think we are playing better." Kraske said. "It should be a great game, we just have to settle down and play the game."

The game between the Ponies and M-Ettes is set for 7 p.m. tonight at the Havre High gymnasium. The Ponies also host Belgrade and Livingston this weekend.