Ponies wrangle Rustlers

Havre High head girls basketball coach Dustin Kraske knew coming into the new season that his veteran, quick and athletic Blue Pony team could hang its hat on defense. But in their season-opening game in Malta, the Blue Ponies didn't quite do that.

However, on Saturday night, in their home-opener, the Blue Ponies were the defensive team Kraske envisioned, and then some.

After a difficult season-opening loss at Malta Friday night, the Ponies shut down the Class AA CMR Rustlers in a 39-23 victory at the HHS gymnasium. Havre's suffocating defense held the Rustlers to just 21 percent shooting and an 0-of-6 performance from the 3-point-line. At one point, the Ponies had CMR so befuddled on offense that the Rustlers went 16 minutes without a field goal, including the entire second quarter.

"I felt like we didn't play with the kind of defensive energy that we were capable of in Malta," Kraske said. "Tonight was the complete opposite of that.

"I thought we were very active, we were communicating very well, we talked, we helped on the ball, we pressured really well," he added. "I thought they looked like they do in practice on defense. So it was very much appreciated to see that kind of defensive effort tonight."

Interestingly, CMR came out like gangbusters, taking a 6-0 lead less than three minutes into the game. But Havre chipped away slowly, and the outing was knotted at 6-6 at the end of the first quarter.

But a stifling HHS defense would eventually allow the Ponies to take a 16-8 lead into halftime, as all the Rustlers could muster in the second period was a pair of free throws. Meanwhile, the Ponies got back-to-back buckets from Breck Don and Torrie Mazurkiewicz as their offense started to click a little better.

In the third quarter, two more baskets by Don, and a Morgan Mazurkiewicz buzzer-beater, helped Havre hang on to its eight-point lead, and though the Rustlers played a little better in the second half, senior Lacey Waid scored eight of her game-high 10 points in the final eight minutes to help the Ponies win going away.

The win over CMR was Havre's first in quite some time, as the Ponies lost to the Rustlers twice in overtime last season. And though HHS didn't play as well as it would have liked on the offensive end, the Ponies did enough to balance out what was an incredible defensive effort.

"I think that's one of the really nice things of being a mature, older team," Kraske said. "We're not shooting the ball very good right now. We know that. But the kids understand that they can fix that. And they know that if we play good defense, and do all the other things correctly, then we'll be fine. And tonight was a perfect example of that. We were aggressive on offense, we took the ball to the basket and we shot free throws and that enabled us to be successful on offense even when we weren't shooting it as well as we would have liked."

Haley Ohm scored seven points to add to Waid's 10, while Don and Torrie Mazurkiewicz each scored six off the bench for the Ponies. Havre was 13-of-24 from the foul line, while the Pony defense forced CMR into a hefty 25 turnovers.

The win over CMR was a big one because it's a Class AA program, and because it showed just how well the Blue Ponies can defend, which will go a long way toward their ultimate goals this season. But it was also important because Havre needed a bounce-back victory after a 47-37 loss in Malta on Friday night.

Against the M-Ettes, a perennial Class B power, Havre came out quickly, as did Malta. The game was tight throughout the first half, as the Ponies trailed just 23-20 at halftime. Malta extended the lead to six at the end of the third quarter, then, a couple of key buckets by Sophie Stiles in the final minutes helped the M-Ettes pull away late.

"Our kids were disappointed with how they played against Malta," Kraske said. "And that's not to take anything away from Malta, they have a nice team, and they did a great job handling our defensive pressure. They handled our full-court pressure really well, and once that happened, I felt like we got tired in our half-court defense, and they made shots in the half court. So credit Malta for doing that. They played a very good game."

In the season-opening loss, Peyton Filius scored 10 points and Morgan Mazurkiewicz added nine, while Brandy Lambourne scored seven. All three each made a 3-pointer for the Ponies.

And though they were disappointed leaving Malta without a victory, the Ponies showed heart and resolve Saturday night by beating the Rustlers, which is something Havre teams don't do all that often. The win Saturday night leaves Havre with a 1-1 start to the season, and some much-needed momentum heading into this weekend's huge homestand with Central A rivals Belgrade and Livingston.

"It was nice to see us come back and play the way we did tonight," Kraske said. "I think that's the sign of having a mature team, being able to come right back and play as well as we did after being disappointed in Malta. I'm proud of the kids for doing that."

Havre will open Central A play Friday against the Livingston Rangers, and the Ponies also host the Belgrade Panthers on Saturday afternoon.

Malta 47, Havre 37

Havre 14 6 7 10 -- 37

Malta 15 8 10 14 -- 47

Havre -- Breck Don 2, Brandy Lambourne 7, Morgan Mazurkiewicz 9, Lacey Waid 6, Peyton Filius 10, Tori Mazurkiewicz 1, Haley Ohm 2. Totals: 11 12-18.

Malta -- Marley Monoukian 4, Sophia Stiles 11, Hailey Nicholson 16, Mercedes Stiles 6, Kelsey Kuhn 2, Rebecca Smith 2, Darby Schye 6. Totals: 18 9-19.

Total fouls -- Havre 16, Malta 17. 3-pointers -- Lambourne, M. Mazurkiewicz, Filius, S. Stiles, M. Stiles.

Havre 39, CMR 23

CMR 6 2 8 7 – 23

Havre 6 10 8 15 – 39

CMR – Kaydee Parsons 1-3 1-2 3, Ashlee Atchison 1-3 1-2 3, Kirsten Kaste 0-2 1-2 1, Sammy Pietrykowski 1-4 1-3 3, Taylor Edwards 1-2 0-0 2, Kylie Otis 1-3 2-2 4, Maggie Reilly 1-1 0-0 2, Darby Gollaher 1-4 0-3 2, Courtney Schroeder 0-3 1-2 1, Maddy Watkins 0-3 2-2 2. Total 7 9-18.

Havre – Breck Don 3-4 0-1 6, Brady Lumbourne 1-1 0-0 2, Morgan Mazurkiewicz 1-5 2-5 4, Lacey Waid 2-6 6-10 10, Peyton Filius 2-2 0-2 4, Tori Mazurkiewicz 2-4 2-2 6, Haley Ohm 2-5 3-5 7. Totals: 13 13-25.

Total Fouls – CMR 20, Havre 19. Fouled out – none. 3-pointers – none.