HHS girls visit Cowgirls, host Eagles

The Havre High girls basketball team hasn't placed much importance on non-conference games under head coach Dustin Kraske, but after back-to-back losses, the Blue Ponies should be hungry for a win, no matter who the opponent.

Tonight, the Ponies will get their chance as they hit the road to take on Conrad in a non-conference game that is scheduled to start at 5:30 p.m. Then, Havre, which is 2-4 on the season, will look to push their record in Central A conference play to 3-0 with a victory over Lewistown Saturday night at the HHS gymnasium. Tip-off is set for 5 p.m.

“We just need to come out and play like we have in practice,” HHS head coach Dustin Kraske said. “We have had a great week of practice and we just need to do the things in games that we do in practice, like talk on defense, catch the ball confidently and shoot it. But, we are still figuring out who we are and we are just going to continue to try and get better.”

Last season, the Ponies easily defeated Conrad at the HHS gymnasium and they will be looking to knock off the Cowgirls again, this time on the road. It has been a struggle for the Class B program so far during the 2015-16 campaign, as the Cowgirls are 0-6 and have two just returning starters in Emily Harwood and Jenae Jones.

The biggest issue for Conrad thus far, has been the lack of production on the offensive end of the floor. Through six games, the Cowgirls have eclipsed the 30-point mark just twice and have yet to score more than 40. Defensively, they do a respectable job and limit opponents to just 46 points per game, but if they want to make it a game with Havre, they will need to find a way to score more consistently.

Normally, a lackluster offense has the Ponies licking their chops, but this season, they have not been as dominant defensively as they have been in year's past. HHS is allowing more than 55 points per game and has allowed more points than every team in the Central A outside of Browning. Certainly, playing Malta, the Class B state champs, twice and Great Falls High, hasn't helped, but according to Kraske, it's still a work in progress.

“I think we are trying to focus on doing the little things,” Kraske said. “We are trying to do all those things better because that’s what it takes to be a great defensive team.”

If the Ponies can raise their level of play on the defensive end, that should put Havre in a solid position to win both games this weekend thanks to an offense that has been better than expected. After starting the season with back-to-back games with less than 40 points, the Ponies are averaging 57 points per game and as a team is shooting 40.5 percent from the field, which ranks second in the league.

Havre has been so successful on offense in large part thanks to the play of All-State senior Dani Wagner. The Carroll College commit scored 22 points in last Saturday's loss to Malta and for the season is averaging 19 points per game, which leads the Central A. Wagner also leads Havre in rebounding with 6.7 per game.

Naomi Terry has also been one of the most prolific scorers in the conference this season as the junior is scoring 12.6 points a night and leads the team with nine 3-point field goals and a shooting percentage of 39 percent from beyond the arc.

Kristen Nash has also been a solid contributor for the Ponies with an average of five points and just more than five rebounds per game, while Ceyara Plante, Marca Herron and Danielle Wallace all will be counted on for key minutes on both ends of the floor.

“I think both Dani and Namoi are having great seasons,” Kraske said. “They both got in the gym and shot the ball a lot over the summer. They both have a lot of confidence, but we have also been trying to get some of our other youngsters to recognize they have skills too and to look to score more.”

After traveling to Conrad tonight, Havre will be home Saturday to take on Lewistown in an important Central A contest. The Eagles come into the game 2-4 overall and 0-1 in league play, so a win is needed in the race to finish in the top three spots and avoid the dreaded divisional play-in game.

Yet, the game is also significant for Havre because after Lewistown, the Ponies will have just one more conference game at home. And with four of its last five Central A games coming on the road, HHS can't afford to drop a game and lose pace with Browning, which is tied with Havre atop the conference standings at 2-0.

At the start of the season, many felt that Lewistown would be the greatest challenge to Havre's dominance of the Central A standings. After all, the Eagles made the Class A state tournament a season ago and boasted a solid group of returners. Yet injuries and a tough early-season schedule have put the Eagles in a bit of a hole, one they will hope to climb out of with a road win over HHS.

With Jaree Mane, their top scorer and rebounder from a season ago still sidelined, the Eagles will need a number of players to step up and one of them is Tara Olson, Lewistown's leading scorer with an average of 10 points per game. No other player on the Lewistown roster averages double figures, but Kyra Fleharty provides a solid presence inside and is second on the team in scoring with close to seven points per game.

“I think our kids know what this game means,” Kraske said. “We know that if we want to put ourselves in a good position, we need to win our home games. Lewistown is a good team, they are well coached and they are very athletic, so I think it will be a very good basketball game.”

Havre and Conrad will tip-off tonight at 5:30. Saturday night, Havre and Lewistown will go head-to-head at 5 p.m., inside the HHS gymnasium.