State champion Pony girls land three Class A All-Staters

The Havre High girls basketball team dominated on the court this past season, winning a second consecutive Class A state championship.

Now, it's time for the Blue Ponies to rake in the postseason awards, which is something else they are dominating.

In terms of the Class A state tournament, Kyndall Keller was named the most valuable player and both she and Sadie Filius earned First-Team All-Tournament team honors for their play last week in Great Falls at the Four Seasons Arena.

Following Havre's first loss of the season to Billings Central at divisionals, the Ponies responded with three straight wins at the girls state tournament, culminating with a 42-36 win over Hardin last Saturday to win the state championship.

In addition to winning a state title, HHS also went undefeated in the Central A conference during the regular season and that was reflected by the fact that the Ponies earned three of the league's four spots on the Class A All-State team.

Kyndall Keller earned her way onto the team for the third time, and junior Kadia Miller and freshman Sadie Filius also received All-State honors along with First-Team All-Conference in the Central A for the first time.

Keller earned the distinction after leading Class A in scoring with an average of 17.1 points per game. She was also second in the team in rebounds (5.3 per game) and was second on the team in steals with two per game.

Kadia Miller also had a solid year with an average of 8.9 points and a team-high 5.7 rebounds.

Incredibly, Filius earned All-State honors despite not starting a game this season for the Ponies. Yet, even in her limited minutes, the freshman made a big impact, scoring five points per game along with three rebounds, 2.5 assists and just under two steals per game. Despite coming off the bench, Filius led Havre in assists and was fourth in steals.

While Keller, Miller and Filius all earned First-Team All-Central A, the Ponies had three others earn Second-Team All-Conference honors as Kylie Walker, Katie Wirtzberger and Jessa Chvilicek were all named to the second team. Chvilicek led Class A in 3-point shooting percentage during the regular season and averaged 6.3 points and 2.6 rebounds. Walker led the Ponies in steals with 2.5 per game to go along with 4.5 points, 2.5 rebounds and two assists. Wirtzberger, a stout defender, scored 4.5 points per game to go along with 2.3 rebounds and 1.5 steals.

Havre sophomore Loy Waid also earned Honorable Mention All-Conference after a solid first season starting for the Ponies. She averaged 6.2 points and 3.6 rebounds as well as close to one block per outing. Head coach Dustin Kraske also won the Central A Coach of the Year award after another undefeated regular season.

Central A All-Conference

First Team: Bailey Christensen, Belgrade; Sadie Filius, Havre; Kyndall Keller, Havre; Kadia Miller, Havre; Kodie Vondra, Livingston.

Second Team: Jessa Chvilicek, Havre; Kylie Walker, Havre; Gabby Weber, Belgrade; Katie Wirtzberger, Havre; Anna Zimmer, Lewistown.

All-State: Kyndall Keller, Havre; Sadie Filius, Havre; Kadia Miller Havre; Bailey Christensen, Belgrade.

Eastern A

All-State: Aspen Cotter, Sr., Laurel; Marie Five, Jr., Hardin; Mya Hansen, Fr., Laurel; Karsen Murphy, Jr., Glendive; Olivia Moten-Schell, Jr., Billings Central.

Southwest A

All-State: Calla Haldrson, Corvallis; Tricia Joyce, BC; Lauren Ryter, Hamilton.

Northwest A

All-State: Ryley Kehr, C-Falls; Jayden Winslow, Libby; Tamika Guardipee, Browning; Trista Cowan, C-Falls.