Blue Pony girls suffer tough losses to Eagles

After going 7-1 in the last eight games, the Havre High girls basketball team hit a couple of speedbumps.

Playing two more games, the Central A Blue Ponies came away with a rare two-loss weekend.

The No. 4 team in Class A and No. 1 team in the Central A conference fell victim to the non-conference Class B Fairfield Eagles and to the conference rival Lewistown Golden Eagles. Friday at the Havre High gymnasium. Fairfield defeated the Ponies 63-37, extending the Eagles’ winning streak to 94 games over the last four seasons. Saturday, the Ponies could have clinched another regular season conference title, but were upset 56-48 in Lewistown.

Now the Ponies sit at 10-6 overall and 6-1 in conference play this season.

The loss to Lewistown was not what the Ponies needed, or expected. Lewistown is always a tough place to play for the Ponies, and the Golden Eagles took full advantage of an HHS team that really had an off night all around.

“We didn’t defend and play as well we would have liked,” Havre High head coach Dustin Kraske said. “Lewistown did a nice job and we had some trouble making some plays down the stretch and they didn’t.”

Havre did score 12 points in each of the four quarters, but it wasn’t the production the Ponies are used to. Kraske went on to say that the offense wasn’t sharing the ball as well they have in recent games and they struggled to knock down shots from the free-throw-line. The Ponies also missed open shots and struggled to get to the basket like they are capable of.

Brandy Lambourne paced the Ponies with 19 points and got plenty of help. But it was difficult to keep pace with Lewistown as the Eagles scored 15 in the first quarter and 23 in the fourth quarter to close out the game. Morgan Mazurkiewicz finished with 11, while Peyton Filius added eight, Dani Wagner added four, Tori Mazurkiewicz added four, and Lacey Waid added two.

“Our kids know they can play better, we expect them to play better, and they expect to play better themselves,” Kraske said. Everything will be fine, we need to tighten up our defense quite a bit and we will work on that this week. Offensively, our spacing wasn’t very good and we didn’t shoot the ball particularly well either, so we will go back to work (today).”

Before Saturday’s conference loss on the road, Fairfield extended its winning streak to 94 games with a win over the Ponies in Havre.

And the Eagles took control of the game from the very beginning. Havre trailed 17-2 after the first quarter and 38-15 at the half. The Ponies started the game with three turnovers and struggled to score points. The first HHS bucket didn’t come until 25 seconds left in the first frame when Lacey Waid stole the ball at midcourt and converted the layup at the other end.

Fairfield’s intensity and up-tempo, physical style of play was crucial in their win over Havre, and has been their bread and butter for years.

“We have had a string of great players come through here, and the intensity in practice has made every day a war for our girls,” Fairfield head coach Dustin Gordon said. “It is an expectation to play with intensity, and there are times where the girls stop practice themselves and say ‘we aren’t getting the job done.’ We always have a feeling of urgency always and that is just how we play.”

As tough as the first half was for the Ponies, things did get better in the second half.

In the first 16 minutes the Ponies committed 11 turnovers and grabbed just eight rebounds. And after shooting just 1-for-10 in the first frame, the Ponies did manage a better showing in the second by shooting 6-for-13, a grand total of 7-for-23 in the opening half. The second half was better as the Ponies hit four 3-pointers in the final 16 minutes, including two each by Morgan Mazurkiewicz and Filius. The Ponies also bettered their scoring with 22 points in the second half.

“I was happy with our kids,” Kraske said. “I thought they played a very, very good second half. The first half we didn’t. We had some open looks that we missed and really had a tough time scoring early. We put ourselves in such a big hole, and that was the ballgame I think. They are just a good team.”

Morgan Mazurkiewicz finished with a team-high 14 points, followed by 11 by Filius and six by Lambourne.

Jill Barta went off for 32 points for Fairfield after the HHS defense slowed her down out of the gates. Barta scored just six points in the first quarter, but gradually got better with her dominating play inside. She was also a force inside that kept the HHS offense from getting to the basket.

Havre look to get back on track Saturday in Rocky Boy against the Morning Stars.

Fairfield 63, Havre 37

Fairfield 17 21 12 13 - 63

Havre 2 13 13 9 - 37

Fairfield – Jill Barta 32, Ta Leigh Isakson 2, Kourtney Coverdell 16, Kaylynn Coverdell 11, Allie Steinbach 2. Totals: 24 15-19.

Havre – Brandy Lambourne 6, Dani Wagner 2, Morgan Mazurkiewicz 14, Lacey Waid 4, Peyton Filius 11. Totals: 13 4-6.

Total fouls – Fairfield 13, Havre 15. Fouled out – None. Three pointers – Lambourne 2, M. Mazurkiewicz 2, Filius 3.

Lewistown 56, Havre 48

Havre 12 12 12 12 – 48

Lewistown 15 9 9 23 – 56

Havre – Brandy Lambourne 19, Dani Wagner 4, Morgan Mazurkiewicz 11, Lacey Waid 2, Peyton Filius 8, T. Mazurkiewicz 4. Totals: 12 12-20.

Lewistown – Mikaela Olson 10, Nicole Karhi 4, Jessica Kinderski 4, Maddie Comes 10, Tara Olson 2, Lexie Anderson 3, Michelle Monger 11, Kyra Fleharty 6, Janee Mane 6. Totals: 15 20-32.

Total fouls – Havre 18, Lewistown 13. Fouled out – T. Mazurkiewicz. 3-pointers – Morgan Mazurkiewicz 1, Filius 2, Anderson 1.