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Havre opens the season by overwhelming Sidney and Glendive
Havre's Kyndall Keller, right, drives the ball during Friday's game between the Blue Ponies and Sidney at the HHS gymnasium.
Havre's Danielle Wallace goes for a rebound during Friday's game against Sidney in Havre.
Havre's Kadia Miller shoots during Friday's game against Sidney in Havre.
Kaylee Nystrom goes in for a layup during Friday's game against Sidney in Havre.
Havre's Ryen Olson shoots during Friday's game against Sidney in Havre.
Leading up to the two season-opening games against Sidney and Glendive this past weekend, Havre High girls basketball coach Dustin Kraske said his team was ready to play someone besides itself in practice each day.
With the way the Blue Ponies came out and jumped all over Sidney Friday night at the HHS gymnasium, it appears that he was right. Havre opened its season with a 71-15 win over the Eagles and followed that up with a 55-38 triumph over Glendive, another non-conference opponent from the Eastern A in Havre.
"The kids just came out right away and they were on it against Sidney," Kraske said. "We really sat down and defended. Some of our seniors, Marca Herron and Kaylee Nystrom, they really set the tone for us defensively and really played with a lot of energy early in the game."
Sidney scored first Friday night, but after a 3-pointer by Herron, the Ponies grabbed a 3-2 advantage. From there, Havre's defensive pressure suffocated the Eagles. Nystrom grabbed two quick steals and two layups and then after six straight points from Kyndall Keller, Havre led 15-2.
Keller and the Ponies continued the run in the second quarter, as the sophomore notched a 3-point play put Havre up 30-3. The lead got as big as 33-3, as the Ponies went on a 33-1 run following the early two-pointer by the Eagles.
"I thought the kids really came out and looked sharp," Kraske said. "I think some of our younger kids had some nerves, but our older kids were ready to go, and they really got us going on both ends of the floor."
The onslaught continued in the second quarter, as treys by Ryen Olson and freshman Kylie Walker extended the Havre lead to 50-11 at halftime. In the third and fourth quarters, the clock was running due to the mercy rule and when it was all said and done, the Ponies walked away with a 56-point victory.
Nine different Havre players scored in the win, with a game-high 20 points coming from Keller, who was the only Pony to reach double figures. Olson and Herron both added nine, while Walker finished with eight. Nystrom, Kadia Miller and Kyley Verploegen each added six. Madison Thiel scored seven to lead the Eagles.
After dispatching the Eagles Friday, Havre turned its attention toward Glendive Saturday, but this time, Havre wasn't able to grab a big lead out of the gates. The Red Devils hung with the Ponies early, trailing 10-9 after one quarter.
Yet, a dominant second stanza for the Ponies broke the game wide open. Havre outscored Glendive 17-6 in the eight-minute stretch, which gave HHS a 27-15 lead at intermission.
The Red Devils did manage to trim the lead to single digits by the start of the fourth quarter, but 18 points in the final stanza allowed the Ponies to salt away their second win of the season.
"We weren't quite as sharp as we were (Friday)," Kraske said. "We didn't have quite the same energy and Glendive is a scrappy team. They are well coached and they play hard. But I thought we played better as the game went on and were able to do enough defensively to win, even though we had a bit of a tough time offensively."
Keller led the way again for Havre in the win scoring 15 points to lead all scorers. Danielle Wallace pitched in with 13 points and Verploegen added six. Olson, Miller and Herron all finished with five. Karsen Murphy was the top scorer for the Red Devils, posting 14 points in the loss.
Havre will be back in action this weekend, when it will host back-to-back games inside the HHS gymnasium against Livingston Friday and Belgrade Saturday.
Havre 71, Sidney 15
Sidney 3 8 3 1 - 15
Havre 23 27 10 11 - 71
Sidney: Lilli Seitz 5, Lauren Beenken 3, Madison Thiel 7.
Havre: Ryen Olson 9, Kyndall Keller 20, Kylie Walker 8, Kaylee Nystrom 6, Kadia Miller 6, Marca Herron 9, Katie Wirtzberger 5, Danielle Wallace 2, Kyley Verploegen 6.
Havre 55, Glendive 38
Glendive 9 6 13 10 - 38
Havre 10 17 10 18 - 55
Glendive: Bailey Pearcy 2, Kendra Kaufman 4, Kasidi Walker 2, Thea Robson 2, Jaley Wyse 6, Karsen Murphy 14, Savannah Toms 8.
Havre: Ryen Olson 5, Kyndall Keller 15, Kylie Walker 2, Kaylee Nystrom 4, Kadie Miller 5, Marca Herron 5, Danielle Wallace 13, Kyley Verploegen 6.
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