M-Ettes trample Ponies

The Havre High girls basketball team was hoping for a little redemption Tuesday night in Malta against the M-Ettes. What the Ponies got, was a fourth consecutive non-conference loss.

Malta, the two-time defending Class B state champions beat Havre by nine earlier in the season and completed the sweep with a 42-25 win over the Blue Ponies on their home floor.

Yet, unlike the first meeting between the two teams, the Ponies were competitive early. And although both teams struggled to score, Havre trailed just 14-13 at the half. However, in the third quarter, Havre went completely cold from the field, when Malta was heating up.

Havre went nearly 10 minutes without scoring in the first matchup against the M-Ettes and this time, HHS didn’t suffer a drought that bad, but went just 1-of-8 in the third quarter. Havre followed that up with a with a 2-for-8 effort in the final stanza, which left the Ponies with a shooting percentage of 18.5 for the second half.

While Havre went cold in the second half, Sophia Stiles found her rhythm. The University of Montana commit simply took the game over and scored 24 of her game-high 31 points in the second half as the M-Ettes poured it on late to win by 17. The senior guard, who also grabbed eight rebounds, scored 24 points over the final 16 minutes, twice as many as Havre’s 12.

Stiles did plenty of work from the field, but she also made 12 points from the free throw line. In all, Malta scored 17 points from the charity stripe, connecting on 17-of-22 free throw attempts. The Ponies, on the other hand, weren’t much better at the line than they were from the field, as they made just 5-of-14 free throws. They were also just 8-of-34 on field goals for the game.

Outside of Stiles, who connected three times from 3-point range, no other Malta player had more than four points. Jada Nicholson, another standout for the M-Ettes was held to one point. Havre also had just one player, Naomi Terry, reach double figures. She scored five in the first half and six in the second to pace HHS with 11. The senior made two 3-pointers. Kristen Nash added five and Marca Herron had three.

Havre is now 11-5 overall and will play another non-conference game Saturday night inside the HHS gymnasium, when the Ponies will host another Class B rival in Rocky Boy. Havre beat the Morning Stars in an earlier matchup this season.

Malta 42, Havre 25

Havre 5 8 4 8 – 25

Malta 6 8 10 18 – 42

Havre – Ceyara Plante 3, Kyndall Keller 3, Naomi Terry 11, Marca Herron 3, Danielle Wallace 1, Kristen Nash 4. Totals: 8 5-13.

Malta – Taylor Gilkerson 3, Sophia Stiles 31, Eva Harms 2, Jada Nicholson 1, Kyleigh Schipman 4, Ella Schye 1. Totals: 13 12-18.

Total fouls – Havre 17, Malta 11. Fouled out – Kaylee Nystrom. 3-pointers – Plante, Terry 2, Herron, Gilkerson, Stiles 3.