Bizarre finish, but the Ponies look ahead to face an old rival tonight

GREAT FALLS - Throughout the 2017-18 season, things have come relatively easy for the Havre High girls basketball team. The Blue Ponies entered the Class A state tournament with a 21-0 record and only a handful of those wins were even close.

During the season, CMR and Rocky Boy, two teams from Class AA and Class B respectively, came the closest to beating Havre, as each team lost by six at home. Yet, at some point, you just knew the Ponies would run into a tough game and in the first round of the state tournament, it finally happened, as the Hamilton Broncs gave Havre all it could handle Thursday in Great Falls at the Four Seasons Arena.

In the end, Havre was able to hold on for the four-point victory, but it needed a little luck and some clutch performances to do it. The good luck came via Hamilton head coach Mark Albert, who made a mistake in the final seconds of the first-round game that will haunt him for a while.

With the Ponies clinging to a 40-39 lead and less than five seconds on the clock, Albert called a timeout. His team had just advanced the ball into the frontcourt and he was ready to draw up a play, which if successful, could have given his team an upset win over the top-ranked Ponies.

Yet, just like the Michigan Wolverines in the 1993 NCAA National Championship game against North Carolina, the game-winning attempt never came. After the Broncs didn't line up correctly after their timeout, Albert called for timeout again and before he realized what he was doing, it was too late. He was given a technical foul, just like Chris Webber, for using a timeout he didn't have.

And just like Webber, Albert's ill-advised timeout ended any hope his team had of pulling off a last-second victory.

Instead of having the ball with a chance to win, Havre went to the free throw line and sophomore Kyndall Keller made two free throws. Danielle Wallace made another, putting the game out of reach and bringing an anti-climatic finish to a great opening-round game.

"I think getting that first win helps," HHS head coach Dustin Kraske said. "I think you can maybe relax a little bit. That 12:30 game is tough. We have been here before and seen the top seed play that game and get beat. So we were fortunate to not have that happen."

One of the most impressive aspects of the win for Havre, was the way its younger players were able to step up and perform under pressure. Keller, who is playing in her second state tournament, scored six points in the fourth quarter, including two free throws in the final seconds that helped ice the win. Fellow sophomore Kadia Miller was also huge. She made two free throws with 23.1 seconds left that put Havre up three.

If she misses even one of those, Hamilton takes the lead on Tessa Della Silva's 3-pointer with around 10 seconds left and from there, it's anyone's guess what happens next. But thanks to some clutch conversions at the free throw line, the Ponies avoided that scenario.

In other words, they survived and advanced, which is what state tournament basketball is all about.

"There was a very small margin for error," Kraske said. "It was big-time possession basketball. We talked to the kids about playing that kind of basketball, and we were able to make some big shots and get some big rebounds down the stretch."

After surviving Hamilton in the quarterfinals of the Class A state tournament, Havre will try to reach the state championship game for the first time since 2014. Yet, standing in its way will be an old rival: the Browning Indians, who beat Belgrade 63-51 Thursday.

For years, the Ponies and Indians were rivals in the Central A conference, until this past season, when the Indians made the move to the Northwest A. The two teams still met twice during the regular season, with both games going to Havre, but tonight, the Indians and Ponies will play arguably their most important game since a Central A challenge game back in 1997. Led by Loree Payne, Havre won that game and earned a trip to the state tournament. Eventually, Havre, coached by Dennis Murphy, won the Class A state championship. HHS will be hoping for a similar result this time around.

"Browning has a great program," Kraske said. "I have a lot of respect for them and Ray (Augare) is a great coach. He has a lot of experience at the state tournament and they are one of the teams that you look at as having a chance to do really well this week."

Havre beat Browning, on the road, without Keller 57-50 in January. Then, in February, near the end of the season, the Ponies beat the Indians at home, 72-53. The third meeting will be for a berth in the state championship game and it tips off tonight at 6:30 inside the Four Seasons Arena.

Browning 63, Belgrade 51

Belgrade 16 11 15 9 - 51

Browning 17 21 9 16 - 63

Belgrade: Alexa Deming 4, Kiah Hohenstein 19, Ashley Sendon 2, Gabby Weber 16, Bailey Christensen 2, Meaghan McGinley 1, Hannah Gee 3, McKenna Carlson 2, Jaiden Blakely 2. Totals: 18 8-13.

Browning: Lacie Goss 2, Olivia Hall 14, Taylor Jordan 10, Ronnal Jordan 22, Dulci Skunkcap 6, Tamika Guardipee 9. Totals: 24 10-16.

3-pointers: Deming, Hohenstein 5, Weber, R. Jordan 4, Hall. Fouls: Belgrade 13, Browning 12. Fouled out: none.

Hardin 60, Columbia Falls 34

Columbia Falls 11 10 6 7 – 34

Hardin 21 13 10 16 – 60

Columbia Falls: Dani Douglas 5, LaKiah Hill 5, Josie Windauer 4, Peyton Rhodes 4, Hannah Schweikert 7, Ryley Kehr 4, Trista Cowan 5. Totals: 12 8-22.

Hardin: Ivery Fitzler 3, Sharmayne Hardy 4, Karissa DuShane 13, Mashaya Alden 4, Aiyanna Ereaux 14, Cailei Cummins 2, Bergan Realbird 6, Arena Plenty 6, Marie Five 8. Totals: 22 11-17.

3-pointers: Douglas, Hill, Fitzler, DuShane 2, Ereaux 2. Fouls: Columbia Falls 14, Hardin 17. Fouled out: none.

Butte Central 43, Glendive 28

Glendive 9 7 7 5 – 28

Butte Central 10 6 16 11 – 43

Glendive: Bailey Pearcy 6, Kasidi Walker 2, Thea Robson 6, Karsen Murphy 8, Savannah Toms 6. Totals: 11 4-13.

Butte Central: Kloie Thatcher 15, Olivia Bolton 9, Cassidy Strizich 4, Megan Michelotti 12, Kailee Murphy 3. Totals: 16 7-11.

3-pointers: Pearch 2, Thatcher 3, Bolton. Fouls: Glendive 12, Central 8. Fouled out: none.