HHS girls blast Rocky Boy

The Havre High girls basketball team has always been known for its defense under head coach Dustin Kraske and the Rocky Boy Morning Stars got a reminder of just how stingy the Blue Pony defense can be.

The two rivals renewed their annual series, with the first of two games inside the HHS gymnasium Thursday night and after holding the Stars to just three points in the first quarter, Havre limited Rocky Boy to 15 for the game in a dominating 70-15 win.

The Ponies are now 7-0 on the season. Their school-record winning streak has reached 31 games.

"I was really pleased with the kids," HHS head coach Dustin Kraske said. "I thought that we did a nice job defensively. We saw kids doing things the right way and communicating. They came out and got after it right away. All 12 of our kids played and played well and that was good to see."

For the first few minutes, Rocky Boy hung with the Ponies and each team eased their way into the game. With the offense struggling to find a rhythm, Kraske turned to freshman Sadie Filius and junior Jessa Chvilicek to come off the bench and give HHS a spark. Right on cue, Filius and Chvilicek sparked a 10-0 run that included four points from the freshman and a 3-pointer from Chvilicek which helped put Havre in front by 12 after one.

In the second stanza, it didn't take long for the 12-point Havre lead to become 20 thanks to Kyndall Keller, who scored eight points in the span of about a minute. First, she knocked down a triple, then scored inside and then hit again from deep, this time from the top of the key, putting the Pony girls in front 24-3. Kylie Walker and Kassidy Compton also got in on the act, as each hit from deep to help Havre build a 36-9 halftime lead.

"I thought we did a great job of moving the ball," Kraske said. "I thought we were a lot more active."

In the third quarter, it was more of the same as Kadia Miller scored a couple of buckets inside which put Havre in front 42-9 and after a 3-pointer by senior Abbey Morse, the Ponies led 49-11 before eventually going on to win by 55.

When the game was over, Havre had three players finish in double figures led by Keller, who had 14. Filius also contributed with 12 points and Miller added 10. Rocky Boy was led by junior Sasha Coffee who had seven. Rochelle Pease also pitched in with four in the loss.

"Our kids did a great job," Kraske said. "They played together, they made the extra pass (offensively) and they did a nice job. I was really happy with the way our kids defended. We got a couple of times in our rotation in our 1-3-1 not blocking out on the backside, so that gives us something to focus on. I liked how they had game situations of trap and rotate and then getting the steal, so I was pretty pleased."

Havre will be off today before hitting the road to take on Lewistown Saturday in a Central A conference matchup, as the Ponies look to go 3-0 within their league. Tip-off time is set or 5 p.m.

Havre 70, Rocky Boy 15

Rocky Boy 3 6 6 0 - 15

Havre 15 21 15 19 - 70

Rocky Boy - Sasha Coffee 7, Rochelle Pease 4, Jeralyn Parker 2, N. Standing Rock 2.

Havre - Kyndall Keller 14, Kylie Walker 7, Kassidy Compton 3, Loy Waid 9, Abbey Morse 3, Kadia Miller 10, Jessa Chvilicek 3, Katie Wirtzberger 1, Lauren Kato 2, Britton Paulson 6.