Blue Pony girls head to GFH

There is no question that the Havre High girls basketball team has been on a roll as of late. The Blue Pony girls have won six consecutive games and are showing no signs of slowing down as they prepare for back-to-back games against Class AA rivals Great Falls High and CMR.

The Ponies will open their two-game foray into non-conference play tonight when they travel to Great Falls High in search of their second straight win over the Bison. The game is scheduled to get underway at 7. Then, Saturday, the Ponies will return to the comfort of the HHS gymnasium, where they will host CMR in the first meeting between Havre and the Rustlers this season, after the game scheduled between the two schools for Dec. 13 had to be postponed due to an outbreak of the whooping cough at CMR.

When it comes to the game tonight against GFH, the Bison are probably still having nightmares about the stingy Havre defense, which held Great Falls to just 35 points in a game the Ponies won by 14 points back on Jan. 2. At one point, the Pony defense was so dominant that the Bison made just one basket from the field in a span of 14:02 and while it would be unrealistic of Havre to expect to duplicate that success, the fact is that few teams in the state of Montana are harder to score on consistently then the Ponies.

"I think it would be great," Kraske said of sweeping Great Falls High. "I think they are a good program. I think they have great kids. Our kids played very well defensively at home and if we can copy that formula down at Great Falls High, we will be happy with the result whatever it may be. But if that means getting another win over them, then kudos to us."

Yet, the Ponies, who boast an overall record of 9-2 as well as a 6-0 mark in Central A conference play coming into tonight's game, are about much more than a great defense. HHS also boasts a number of talented scorers, highlighted by Morgan Mazurkiewicz, who has been lights out in her senior season. Not only does Mazurkiewicz average a team-high 15.5 points per game, but she also leads the team in assists with 6.4 per game and steals with 3.5 per game. She is also Havre's third-leading rebounder with 5.8 boards per night.

"I think that Morgan is having the kind of year that she worked hard to have, to be honest with you," Kraske said. "That's why she spent so much time in the gym in the offseason to get better. She is the leader of our team, if we need a little fire, she gets us some fire, if we need a basket, she gets us a basket. She is just an all-around good basketball player. She's a hard, tough-nosed kid that is a privilege to teach. She is a great, great competitor."

As good as Mazurkiewicz is, the Pony offense is about much more than her as Dani Wagner and Naomi Terry have emerged as consistent scoring threats. Wagner may be the most athletic player on the team and in addition to being the second-leading scorer with 10.4 points per game, she also leads the team in rebounding with 7.6 per game. Terry has also been stellar this season. The sophomore guard is averaging 9.9 points per game, but she has not been the only sophomore to contribute as Ceyara Plante has come on strong recently for the Ponies along with seniors Lindsey Kudrna and Rachel Majeres, as well as junior Holly Purkett.

"Dani has really started coming into her own. She's looking to score more offensively, taking it to the basket and scoring when she has the chance to. So I am very pleased with her as well," Kraske said. "And I am very pleased with our other kids, too. Naomi is a good player. (Lindsey) Kudrna is coming off a great weekend. Holly Purkett has been great off the bench for us, Ceyara has been good and Rachel has also done a nice job of settling into her role."

Great Falls, which is 5-5 on the season, boasts a slew of talented players in its own right led by Nora Klick, who is a talented guard that scored a team-high 12 points in the loss for the Ponies earlier in the season. Others that will make key contributions for the Bison are Hannah Collins and Molly Schimitz.

After attempting to get the season sweep of the Bison tonight, the Ponies will try and start the process of sweeping CMR Saturday.

Havre did manage to win both of its games over the Rustlers a year ago and will look for a third straight win when the Ponies welcome CMR into the HHS gymnasium. The Rustlers, who come in sporting a 5-4 overall record, will be led by Taylor Edwards, who is the team's top scorer. Other key players for the Rustlers include Briana Easton, Lindsay Martinez, Talya Vairia, Courtney Schroeder and Courteney Shovlin.

"Taylor Edwards is a fantastic basketball player," Kraske said. "She is one of the better kids in AA, she is very, very good and we are going to have our hands full guarding her. She gets to the basket easily, she is very smooth at the hoop and can shoot the three."

The Ponies will go for the sweep of Great Falls High tonight when they hit the road to take on the Bison. Saturday, the Ponies will host CMR at 5 p.m. Havre and CMR have also rescheduled the game that was to be played Dec. 13, for Feb. 10 in Great Falls.