Havre girls go back-to-back

When it came to the 2019 Class A girls state championship game, nothing came easy for the Havre Blue Ponies. Yet, no one ever said winning back-to-back titles would be simple.

However, after an exhaustive four-quarter fight with the Hardin Bulldogs, the Ponies emerged victorious again, defeating the Bulldogs 42-36 to win a second consecutive state title.

"I just can't believe it," Havre junior Kyndall Keller said. "I love basketball and it's a crazy sport and this, this is just the best feeling ever."

At times, the state championship game was crazy. In front of a sold-out crowd in the Four Seasons Arena in Great Falls, Havre and Hardin spent the first quarter feeling each other out and after the opening stanza, the Bulldogs led 6-2. But in the second quarter, the Ponies got an offensive spark from Katie Wirtzberger, who knocked down two 3-pointers in a five-minute span to give Havre an 11-8 lead with 3:05 left in the first half.

"I just knew that my team needed it," Wirtzberger said. "It felt really good to see them go in."

Hardin used a 3-point play from Kylee Old Elk to reclaim the lead, but four free throws in the last minutes of the first half by freshman Sadie Filius helped the Ponies pull even at intermission 16-16.

In the third quarter, Filius, who started the second half in place of an injured Kylie Walker, continued to play beyond her years, scoring the first hoop of the stanza to put HHS in front 18-16. Soon after, a deep 3-pointer by Keller extended the lead to 21-18.

"I didn't even think about it," Keller said. "And I am just glad it went in. That helped me get into a rhythm."

While Keller struggled from the field in the first half, her bank shot gave her a spark and a couple of minutes later, she hit another trey from the corner and then, after she knocked down a baseline jumper Havre led 32-27 entering the fourth quarter.

"It was a battle," Havre junior Kadia Miller said. "They wanted it bad. We wanted it bad. It was an intense game."

Indeed. Both teams wanted the state championship badly but 40 seconds into the fourth quarter, Filius hit the biggest shot of her life, banking in a trey from the top of the key that put the Ponies up eight, 35-27.

"This is just surreal," Filius said. "I almost can't believe it. I was just trying to have fun like it was any other game and I am just glad that my teammates and my coaches trusted me."

Following the dagger three by Filius, the Ponies started milking the clock and even though Hardin got as close as three points with 5:09 left, Keller made five key free throws down the stretch to ice the win and the Ponies second consecutive championship, making them the first Havre High basketball team, girls or boys, to win back-to-back state titles.

"It's pretty special," Keller said. "It means everything. I can't even believe it. It really hasn't sunk in or hit me yet. It will. But right now it's just hard to believe."

Keller finished with a game-high 17 points, yet Havre also got a tremendous effort from Filius who scored 13 points, grabbed seven rebounds and dished out three assists. Wirtzberger also added seven points and four rebounds in the win.

"This feels amazing," Wirtzberger said. "I don't even know what to say. It's just the best feeling ever."

The state championship was the third overall for Havre under head coach Dustin Kraske, who has directed the Ponies to all three championships inside the Four Seasons. Havre won in Great Falls last season, beating Hardin and also beat Hamilton on the same floor in 2014.

"Our kids are wonderful," Kraske said. "I am so happy for them. This year's team was very good and it complimented last year's team. This is just a product of all their hard work and their parents supporting us as coaches and the players allowing us to coach them."

For more on the Ponies championship win, see Monday's edition of the Havre Daily News.