Havre girls race past Browning, Fairfield

Having already beaten several non-conference opponents this season, including Great Falls and Malta in the beginning of January and blazing through conference rivals Lewistown and Sidney, the Havre High girls basketball team had plans to add two more wins to its record, against Browning Friday and Fairfield Saturday on the road.

And those plans came to fruition when the Blue Ponies beat the Browning Indians 52-29 in Browning and then the Eagles 56-31 in Fairfield.

The pair of wins now puts Havre at a 9-1 overall record for the season.

Friday's game versus Browning started off the weekend right. The Ponies opened the game with an offensive push, dropping 15 points and leading Browning 15-7 at the end of the first quarter.

The second stanza saw HHS continue its hot streak on both sides of the ball. Havre racked up 19 points, the highest-scoring quarter of the game, and once again held the Lady Indians to seven points. The Ponies kept a good 20-point lead 34-14 at the intermission.

After halftime, Havre had its lowest-scoring period of the game, while Browning added eight more points to the board. That was the only quarter of the match where the Lady Indians outscored the Ponies. The fourth stanza provided some more points on Havre's side, as it put up 11, while holding Browning to seven points for the third stanza in the game.

The Blue Pony offense made some noise on the road against the Indians, led by senior Kyndall Keller with 22 points, followed by fellow senior Jessa Chvilicek with eight. Meanwhile, the Havre defense did not allow Browning to score double-digits in every quarter of play.

With a great showing away from home against the Indians, who are one of the top teams in the Western A, HHS was in high spirits heading to Fairfield for another road matchup.

Once again, the Ponies opened the game with a bang, putting up 25 points and holding the Eagles to nine.

Havre followed up the big first quarter with a good second stanza performance, adding 12 points to the score and holding Fairfield under double-digits to keep a nice lead 37-16 at the break.

The Blue Ponies again experienced a slower third period and put up four points, while the Eagles outscored Havre in the quarter with 11 points. HHS surged back into another nice fourth stanza and racked up 15 points, while only allowing four points, to close off the road game against the Eagles on a high note and the weekend on a great note. Against Fairfield, Keller once again led the team with an 18-point game, followed by sophomore Sadie Filius with 10 points and Kadia Miller with nine.

After playing two road games in a row, Havre (9-1) will have a pair of games at home against conference rivals Glendive and Miles City. The Ponies start the Northeast A matchups against Glendive on Friday and Miles City on Saturday, with both games taking place in the Havre High Gymnasium.

Havre 52, Browning 29

Browning 7 7 8 7 - 29

Havre 15 19 7 11 - 52

Browning – Chalissa Kipp 1, Arena Matt 1, Mecca Bulchild 1, Payton Cross Guns 4, Walker Running Crane 5, Dulci Skunkcap 12, Tatum Running Crane 2, Tamika Guandepee 3. Totals: 12 4-12 29.

Havre – Kyndall Keller 22, Kylie Walker 7, Loy Waid 7, Avery Carlson 2, Kadia Miller 4, Jessa Chvilicek 8, Britton Paulson 2. Totals: 19 9-18 52.

Havre 56, Fairfield 31

Fairfield 9 7 11 4 - 31

Havre 25 12 4 15 - 56

Fairfield – Madi Rosenbaum 2, Kenna Pitcher 19, Taylor Simmons 2, Cheyenne Maddox 3, Kyler Bake 3, Kaylee Christenser 2. Totals: 10 9-12 31.

Havre – Kyndall Keller 18, Kylie Walker 3, Loy Waid 8, Kadia Miller 9, Sadie Filius 10, Katie Wirtzberger 8. Totals: 20 10-15 56.