Ponies cut down Loggers

GREAT FALLS - After playing at an unusual start time, it took a little time for the Havre High girls basketball team to get going Thursday inside the Four Seasons Arena in Great Falls.

But after a sluggish first half against the Libby Loggers in the quarterfinals of the Class A girls state tournament, the Blue Ponies dominated the final 16 minutes, outscoring the Loggers 37-8 in the second half on their way to a 62-28 win.

Havre (21-1) will take on Laurel in the semifinals today at 3. It will be the Ponies' sixth trip to the semifinals in the last seven years.

"Congratulations to our kids," HHS head coach Dustin Kraske said. "We came out and played well. We will need to come out a little more ready to go on Friday. But kudos to our kids."

In the first quarter, the Ponies struggled to knock down shots early, while Libby caught fire early from deep, more specifically, Jayden Winslow did. The Loggers senior made two 3-pointers early, giving Libby a 13-8 lead. Yet, a 6-0 run by the Ponies, which was capped on a corner three by Sadie Filius with time running out in the opening stanza, put Havre in front 14-13 after one.

In the second quarter, Havre continued its run and after buckets by Kyndall Keller, Katie Wirtzberger and Kylie Walker, the Ponies led 20-13 after a completing a 12-0 run. However, Winslow continued to keep Libby in the game and in the last few minutes of the first half, she buried two more triples to keep the Loggers close and at the half, they were down just 25-20.

"Credit to her," Kraske said of Winslow. "It wasn't like we weren't trying to guard her. We lost track of her once in our zone, but credit to her, she made some tough shots. We had some good looks and we missed some of them, so it wasn't like we weren't trying, that's just the game sometimes."

In the third quarter, Havre made a concerted effort to keep the ball away from Winslow and that extra attention paid off. At the same time, the Ponies cranked up their pressure defense. The full-court pressure led to some easy buckets and following a pair of 3-pointers by Keller, Havre's lead was 37-24. A bucket by Kadia Miller finished off the 16-3 spurt and helped the Ponies build a 43-27 lead heading to the fourth quarter.

"We picked up our pressure there in the second half and got after it a little bit," Keller said. "We got up and guarded (Winslow) and tried our best to keep the ball away from her."

"We came out with a lot more energy in the second half," Kraske added. "We wanted to keep the ball away from her and Kadia did a really great job with that along with Kyndall."

After seizing control of the game in the third, Havre showed its killer instinct scoring the first 12 points of the fourth on its way to outscoring Libby 19-1 over the final eight minutes.

When it was sall said and done, Keller led the way for the Ponies with 14 points. Miller and Filius each contributed with 10 each. Winslow led the way for the Loggers with 14, however, she scored only two in the second half.

While the Havre defense was solid in the first half, holding Libby to 36 percent from the field, over the final 16 minutes, the Ponies allowed Libby to score just eight points and held the Loggers to 15 percent from the field. HHS also had a field day when it came to forcing turnovers and at game's end, the Ponies got 27 points off takeaways, which fueled an offensive explosion in the final half that saw them pour in 37 points on 61 percent shooting.

"Our kids just had a lot more energy in the second half," Kraske said. "And anytime you win that first game at the state tournament, that's perfect. It's hard enough to get to a state tournament, let alone win a game."

After defeating Libby, the Ponies will look to advance back to the Class A state championship with a win today against Laurel. The Locomotives, the fourth seed from the East used a 23-2 run to open the game against Columbia Falls to knock off the Western A champions in blowout fashion setting up an all-Eastern A semifinal, which will tip-off at 3:30 p.m., inside the Four Seasons.

"We are going to have a little more energy and enthusiasm than tonight (Thursday)," Kraske said. "We are going to have to handle the pressure they like to throw at teams. We are going to have to keep them off the glass. They shoot a bunch of threes, and we need to do a good job against that. They are a tough, well-coached team. We just need to focus on making simple look good."

If Havre beats Laurel, the Ponies will be back in the Class A state championship game for the second straight year. It is scheduled to start Saturday night at 6. Today's second semifinal pits Eastern A powers Hardin and Billings Central against each other.

Havre 62, Libby 28

Libby 13 7 7 1 - 28

Havre 14 11 18 19 - 62

Havre - Sam Oliver 2, Kyndall Keller 14, Kylie Walker 4, Loy Waid 2, Kadia Miller 10, Jessa Chvilicek 2, Sadie Filius 10, Katie Wirtzberger 6, Lauren Kato 5, Britton Paulson 7. Totals: 25-48 9-14 62.

Libby - Alli Collins 2, Emma Gruber 2, Jayden Winslow 14, Sammee Braden 3, McKenzie Profitt 4, Elise Erickson 1, Olivia Gilliam-Smith 2. Totals: 8-30 8-17 28.

3-Pointers (Jayden Winslow 4, Kyndall Keller 2, Sadie Filius 1). Fouls: Havre 14, Libby 12. Fouled out -- none.

Laurel 58, Columbia Falls 29

Laurel 23 10 11 14 - 58

C. Falls 2 9 11 7 - 29

C. Falls - Trista Cowan 8, Josie Windauer 7, Ryley Keher 5, Maddie Robison 2, Savannah Ellis 2, Madysyn Hoerner 2, Hannah Schweikert 1.

Laurel - May Hansen 12, Aspen Cotter 9, Maeson Cotter 9, Kaitlyn Dawes 5, Sammi Spitzer 5, Grace Timm 4, Morgan Maack 4, Riley Chapman 4, Kolby Gibbs 4, Gracey Willis 2.

Hardin 71, Browning 29

Hardin 13 23 23 12 - 71

Browning 11 4 8 6 - 29

Browning - Dulci Skunkcap 10, Chalissa Kipp 5, Taylor Jordon 4, Danaiya Polk 4, Tatum Running Crane 2, Walker Running Crane 2, Chaslin Kipp 2.

Billings Central 46. Butte Central 35

Butte Central 11 1 7 16 - 35

Billings Central 7 11 13 15 - 46

Billings Central - Isabelle Erickson 16, Olivia Moten-Schell 13, Julia Peterson 6, Chloe Paharik 5, Tess Hanson 2, Solei Elletson 2, Melissa Hanser 2.

Butte Central - Tricia Joyce 18, Sofee Thatcher 8, Madison Kump 5, Amira Bolton 4.