HHS girls expect tough games with Fairfield, Lewistown

For the first time this season, the Havre High girls basketball team has lost consecutive games, something the Blue Ponies will look to rectify this weekend.

Havre will get its first chance to do that tonight, on the road against Fairfield. Tip-off time is set for 5:30. Then, the Ponies will return to the HHS gymnasium Saturday, where they will host Central A rival Lewistown. Game time is scheduled for 5 p.m.

"I think part of it is that we need to take more time to prepare for non-conference games," HHS head coach Dustin Kraske said. "That's never been something I have been very good at. I think we just need to get some confidence back on the offensive end."

While Kraske may want to see his team starting playing with confidence again, it may be hard to do against a Fairfield team that boasts a pretty solid defense. In the first meeting between the two teams, the Eagles held Havre to just 48 points. It was one of six times in the first 13 games that the Ponies have been held under 50 points.

Yet, HHS has scored under 50 in its last two games. In fact, the Ponies have been held under 40 in their past two outings, scoring just 39 against CMR and 35 against Malta. Despite that, they still average 51 points a game ahead of tonight's battle with Fairfield and that's due in large part to Naomi Terry and Kyndall Keller.

Terry is still one of the top scorers in Class A girls basketball with 14.4 points per game. Keller, a freshman, isn't far behind at 12.8 per game and between the two, they are accounting for 53 percent of Havre's offense.

The Ponies have also gotten positive contributions from Ceyara Plante, who is averaging 7.5 points per game, as well as Danielle Wallace, who is at 6.2 and Marca Herron, who is averaging 4.8. In addition to having multiple threats to score, another strength of the Havre offense is its 3-point shooting.

HHS shoots 32 percent as a team from beyond the arc, with Herron leading the way at 41 percent. But Keller (34), Terry (32) and Plante (32) are all shooting solid percentages after attempting more than 60 3-point field goals apiece this season.

"I just think that we need to get back to being who we are," Kraske said. "I think that we got away from that a little bit these past two games."

At the start of the season, Fairfield also got away from itself a little bit. At one point, the Eagles were 2-4, but after winning five of six games, they are now 7-5. And behind Natalie Klinker and Allix Goldhahn, who is committed to play college hoops at Montana State University-Northern, Fairfield has plenty of firepower. The two combined to score 30 against the Ponies in the first matchup.

"Fairfield is a good team," Kraske said. "Going to play them on the road is going to be a big challenge for us, we are looking forward to it."

A win over Fairfield would certainly get the Ponies back on track, yet a win over Lewistown Saturday, would carry much more importance. That's because if HHS can beat another set of Eagles (5-7, 1-3), then it clinches the top spot in the Central A standings and a spot at the top of the bracket at the Eastern A Super Divisional that goes along with it.

"Every conference game is important," Kraske said. "We really emphasize that with our kids and we just want to put ourselves in the best position possible."

In the first meeting, Havre knocked off Lewistown 53-41. Yet, with Anna Zimmer, who averages 9.9 points and 7.2 rebounds, the Ponies will have their hands full. Zimmer scored 16 points in the last game. Haydn Potter had 13 and Hanna Hayes, who averages 9.7 points and 4.8 boards a game herself, could also cause some issues inside.

"Lewistown is an athletic team," Kraske said. "We are going to have to work hard to keep them from getting offensive rebounds."

Havre and Fairfield will do battle tonight at 5:30 in Fairfield. The Ponies will host Lewistown Saturday inside the HHS gymnasium with tip-off set set for 5 p.m.