Havre girls hold off tough Morning Stars

ROCKY BOY - The Havre High girls basketball team took a rare two-game losing streak down to Rocky Boy on Saturday night. And for much of the game, the Morning Stars were a serious threat to hand Havre another loss.

But in the end, the Blue Ponies were too powerful on both ends of the floor. Havre beat the Morning Stars 49-38 Saturday in Rocky Boy, as the Ponies improved to 11-6, while Rocky Boy ended its regular season with a 7-11 overall record. Havre also earned a season sweep of the Morning Stars in what was the first year of the new rivalry.

The Morning Stars played a stellar first quarter and only trailed the Ponies 9-7 thanks to a late 3-pointer Jai-Lynne Day Child. Things got even better for Rocky Boy in the second stanza as Chanal Standing Rock, who played for HHS as a sophomore, answered a Brandy Lambourne 3-pointer with one of her own, giving Rocky Boy a 17-16 lead.

From there however, Havre imposed its will. The Ponies got five straight points by Peyton Filius, while Morgan Mazurkiewicz buried a trey, capping an 8-0 run which gave the Ponies a 24-17 halftime edge.

"We did go on a nice little run there at the end of the first half," Blue Pony head coach Dustin Kraske said. "I didn't like how we played at certain points tonight, but I really liked how we played in the third quarter. I thought we played great in the third quarter and that's where we took control of the game."

Indeed. Lambourne and Filius knocked in back-to-back three's midway through the period, and overall, HHS outscored the Morning Stars 13-6, including a 9-0 run at one point. At the end of the stanza, Havre led 37-23, and while Rocky Boy made a valiant comeback attempt, as Standing Rock went off from the 3-point-line in the final stanza, three straight buckets by Lambourne and Filius were enough to help the Ponies fend off the Morning Stars for good.

"I thought at times tonight, we were really aggressive and played really well," Kraske said. "At other times thought, I thought we lacked a sense of urgency. I felt like Rocky Boy also played much better this time. They seemed to play with a lot more confidence in this gym than they did in ours."

Filius hit two trey's and scored a team-high 19 points for the Ponies. Lambourne hit three of her own and added 17 points, while Mazurkiewicz chipped in with 11 and three more three's. Standing Rock scored a game-high 23 points and nailed four trey's.

Rocky Boy will now move on to the District 1B tournament Thursday-Saturday in Cut Bank. Meanwhile, the Ponies will prepare for a huge showdown with Browning this Saturday night at the Havre Central Gym. The Central A finale will likely be a winner-take-all game as the Central A regular season title will be on the line.

"What I liked most about this game is the fact the win on the road," Kraske said. "We can play better, and we'll need to play better against Browning. But we're glad to come away with a win tonight too."

Blue Ponies 49, Rocky Boy 38

Havre 9 15 13 12 – 49

Rocky Boy 7 10 6 15 – 38

Havre – Brandy Lambourne 17, Dani Wagner 2, Morgan Mazurkiewicz 11, Peyton Filius 19. Totals: 17 8-12

Rocky Boy – Minnie The Boy 2, Jai-lynn Day Child 3, Lauren Four Colors 4, Jude The Boy 3, Chanel Standing Rock 23, Kylee Raining Bird 3. Totals: 14 5-15.

Total fouls – Havre 16, RB 15. 3-pointers – Lambourne 3, Mazurkiewicz 3, Filius 2, J. The Boy, Standing Rock 4.