Ponies split with Eagles

After starting the season 10-1, the Havre High girls basketball team had lost three straight following a defeat to Fairfield in the Blue Ponies first game of the weekend Friday.

But with Lewistown on the schedule for Saturday, Havre got back to doing what it does - winning conference games. And after losing 46-23 to Fairfield the previous night, the Ponies knocked off Lewistown 61-47 inside the HHS gymnasium.

The win got Havre to 7-0 on the season in the Central A and at the same time, clinched the top spot in the conference regular season standings.

"It was a really big win," Havre senior Naomi Terry said. "We have been in a slump a little bit and we came in (Saturday) morning and we said that we wanted to win the league and get out of this slump, so it was awesome. We had three goals this year, one of them was to win the league. The next are to win divisionals and hopefully state, but we got the first one."

Terry played her part for Havre early and often. In the first quarter, she knocked down a 3-pointer that put Havre up 5-0 and scored later in the stanza as the Ponies led 14-9 after one. In the second quarter, Terry added three more points. But at the same time, Lewistown scored 10, compared to eight for HHS and at the intermission it was 22-19 in favor of the Ponies.

In the third quarter, Havre came out hot, as Kyndall Keller and Terry combined for eight quick points for the Ponies as their lead grew to 30-22. Yet, things tightened as Lewistown got within one late in the period.

However, before time ran out, Terry had time for a dagger. Keller was on the free-throw-line with just seconds left and after a miss, the ball caromed out to Terry beyond the 3-point line, who caught and drilled a trey as time expired in the third. It gave HHS a 36-31 advantage.

"There was about four seconds left and they were right in the middle," Terry said. "And I said I am just gonna toss it from right here and it went in."

In the fourth quarter, the Ponies got a boost from Kylie Verploegen, a post player, who came off the bench to score six points and grab three offensive boards in a matter of minutes. Her last bucket came at the 5:21 mark of the fourth and gave Havre a 54-44 lead.

"The kids that came in off the bench, came in and did a great job," HHS head coach Dustin Kraske said. "Kylie Verploegen, she came in battling. Kristen Nash, she did a good job. RayAn Vandenbos and Rien Olsen came in and did their jobs. We are kind of coming into our own and trying to figure out exactly where things need to be for tournament time."

Minutes later, Marca Herron hit from deep, then added two free throws to put Havre up 12. From there, Havre iced the game at the foul line.

Terry led the way for the Ponies with 20 points. She also had five steals on the defensive end of the floor.

"I really like guarding the point guard," Terry said. "When they matched me up with their point guard, I just thought I need to step up and be a leader. We have a few girls that can press full court, so we got up in our Blue 10 and pressed them all game."

Keller also had a stellar night for the Ponies, finishing with 15. Herron was next with seven, while Verploegen added six. Nine different players scored points for Havre. Anna Zimmer led all scorers with 23 for the Eagles.

"I thought Naomi had one of her finest all-around performances," Kraske said. "She made the right decisions and she did a great job defensively. Kyndall, she also played well on the defensive end, she sat down in the second half and she really did a nice job."

The win over Lewistown was a nice bounce back for the Ponies, who fell to Fairfield 46-23 the previous night on the road. Havre scored just three points in the first quarter and zero in the third as the Eagles doubled them up. Natalie Klinker scored a game-high 28 points for Fairfield, while Terry led HHS with six.

The Ponies (11-4, 7-0) will be back in action Tuesday, as they travel to Malta to take on the two-time defending Class B state champions. Havre will also host Rocky Boy Saturday.

Fairfield 46, Havre 23

Havre 3 12 0 8 - 23

Fairifled 12 16 8 10 - 46

Havre: Ceyara Plante 3, Ryen Olsen 2, Ragan VandenBos 2, Naomi Terry 6, Danielle Wallace 4, Kirsten Nash 4, Kyley Verploegen 2.

Fairfield: Alix Goldhahn 7, Natalie Klinker 28, Kenna Pitcher 2, Aria Johnson 3, Kaitlynn Jones 6.

Havre 61, Lewistown 47

Lewistown 9 10 12 16 - 47

Havre 14 8 14 25

Lewistown: Anna Zimmer 23, Hannah Hayes 9, Haydn Potter 6, Alijah Ross 4, Anderson 3, Butcher 2.

Havre: Naomi Terry 20, Kyndall Keller 15, Marca Herron 7, Kylie Verploegen 6, Ceyara Plante 5, Rien Olson 4, Danielle Wallace 2, Kristen Nash 1, Kaylee Nystrom 1.