Great HHS girls season ends at state

The Havre High girls basketball team didn’t come away from the Class A state tournament with a trophy. The Blue Ponies didn’t even make it to Saturday night, but if there’s one thing you can say about them, it's that they never quit, ever.

After falling to Columbia Falls on the opening day of the tournament in Belgrade, the Ponies rebounded to knock off Frenchtown 44-40 Friday, which set the stage for a battle with Dillon for a spot in the third-place game Saturday morning. However, after an exciting battle that went down to the last shot, the Ponies fell just short, losing a 44-41 heartbreaker to the Beavers.

“I think that we found out that we have a group of fighters,” HHS head coach Dustin Kraske said. “And I think that that didn’t really come out until the last couple of weeks of the season, and I think that’s pretty cool.”

Yet, the fact that the game even came down to a game-tying shot by Havre, which missed, was a testament to the Ponies never-say-die attitude. After the two teams went into halftime tied at 20-20, Dillon got some breathing room in the third quarter and took a five-point edge into the fourth.

Early in the final stanza, a 3-pointer by the Beavers put them in front 35-27 and things looked bleak for the Ponies. However, in the next few minutes, Naomi Terry would hit from deep three different times, sparking an 11-2 run that got HHS within one at 39-38 with 1:31 left in the game.

“It looked like we were out of it,” Kraske said. “And then, we just jumped right back into it.”

After a free throw by Dillon, Havre trailed by two and had the ball with under a minute left. The Ponies attempted a go-ahead three, but it was no good. Then, after the Beavers knocked down two free throws at the other end, Havre found itself down four, with just 25 seconds left.

Faced with a dire situation, the Ponies turned to their best player, Dani Wagner, who delivered a clutch trey to get the Ponies back within one point, at 42-41. After a foul and two more free throws by Dillon, Wagner would attempt another three with time running out, this time to tie the game. Unfortunately, the shot went long and the Ponies' valiant effort came up short.

Wagner led the Ponies with a game-high 15 points in her final outing in a Havre High uniform. Terry also had a stellar game with 14 points, nine of them coming in the fourth quarter. Bailey Berriochoa had 12 to lead the Beavers, while Brynley Fitzgerald finished with 10.

“I think she has had one of the most successful careers of any of the players that I have coached,” Kraske said of Wagner. “She had three really good seasons. She became more of a scorer during her senior year than I thought she could be, and she was a tremendous leader and a tremendous competitor and that’s where we are going to miss her the most.”

Havre showed plenty of heart in its loss to Dillon, but showed maybe even more in its win Friday over Frenchtown. After losing on the first day, coming back in loser-out action is always difficult and early on, the Broncs appeared more ready to play as they jumped out to a 15-6 lead. By the half, Havre had made some headway, but still trailed 26-18 with just 16 minutes of basketball to go.

In the third quarter, the Ponies outscored Frenchtown 12-7, before outpacing them again in the fourth quarter 14-7, to wrap up a 44-40, come-from-behind win. Wagner had 14 points to pace Havre. Terry had 11 and Marca Herron had nine. Aliva Williams was the top scorer for Frenchtown with 11 points.

“Frenchtown was a good team,” Kraske said. “They competed hard just like our kids did, it was a great basketball game. And winning a game at the state tournament, that’s no small thing. We told our kids Saturday morning that they were one of the six best teams in the state and that’s quite an accomplishment.”

With one win and two losses, the Ponies extended their streak of years with a win at the state tournament to four and finished the 2015-16 season with a record of 15-10. However, coach Kraske and his team have to be optimistic about the future, with just one senior graduating, albeit an important one in Wagner.

“We are definitely going to miss Dani,” Kraske said. “But we have some youngsters that got some great experience. I think our program is in great shape and as long as we continue to come back and work hard in the off-season, it’s going to continue to be in good shape. So I am excited about that. I think we are all excited to get back to work.”

Havre 44, Frenchtown 40, lo

Havre 6 12 12 14 – 44

Frenchtown 15 11 7 7 – 40

HAVRE – Ceyara Plante 1 0-3 2, Ryen Olson 1 0-0 3, Dani Wagner 3 7-11 14, Kaylee Nystrom 0 0-0 0, Naomi Terry 1 8-10 11, Marca Herron 2 3-6 9, Danielle Wallace 1 1-4 3, Kirsten Nash 1 0-2 2. Totals: 10 19-36 44.

FRENCHTOWN – Megan Delaney 0 2-4 2, Alivia Williams 5 1-2 11, Lexi Statelen 1 1-3 3, Kylie Willett 2 1-8 6, Alli Moe 1 2-2 4, Sydney Channer 0 0-0 0, Emilee Hinrichs 3 0-0 6, Dana Jacobs 0 0-0 0, Allison Hochhalter 3 1-3 8. Totals: 15 22 40.

3-point goals: Hav 5 (Herron 2, Olson 1, Wagner 1, Terry 1), Fre 2 (Willett 1, Hochhalter 1). Fouls: Hav 20, Fre 20. Fouled out: Williams. Technicals: none.

Dillon 44, Havre 41, lo

Dillon 10 10 12 12 – 44

Havre 10 10 7 14 – 41

DILLON (17-8) – Paige Rouse 0 4-4 4, Alex Rouse 1 2-4 4, Kylie Christiansen 2 1-2 5, Rachael Nye 3 0-0 9, Bailey Berriochoa 2 8-8 12, Brynley Fitzgerald 3 4-4 10,Savannah Hildreth 0 0 0-0 0, Kathleen Tatarka 0 0-0 0. Totals: 11 19-22 44.

HAVRE (15-10) – Ceyara Plante 0 0-2 0, Ryen Olson 1 0-0 3, Dani Wagner 5 3-4 15, Kaylee Nystrom 0 0-0 0, Naomi Terry 5 0-0 14, Marca Herron 1 0-0 2, Danielle Wallace 2 0-0 4, Camryn Huston 0 0-0 0, Kristen Nash 1 1-2 3, Kyley Verploegen 0 0-0 0. Totals: 15 4-6 41.

3-point goals: Dil 3 (Nye), Hav 7 (Terry 4, Wagner 2, Olson 1). Fouls: Dil 8, Hav 15. Fouled out: none. Technicals: none