Pony girls power into the semis

After winning 16 straight games and going undefeated in conference play, the Havre High girls basketball team have plans to claim another Class A state title for the third time, but the Blue Ponies had to go through old Central A rival, the Livingston Rangers first.

And Havre punched its ticket back to the Eastern A semifinals with a 59-32 win over the Rangers Thursday afternoon in the First Interstate Bank Arena at the Metra in Billings. The Ponies put up a big win to start off the postseason.

HHS head coach Dustin Kraske told Mike Scherting of 406 Sports that he was proud of his team’s performance against Park.

“I thought our kids did fine,” Kraske said. “I think Park High (Livingston) is a scrappy team. I think coach Megan Burns is doing a good job over there. I thought our kids did fine. We don’t get to play on this floor every other week, you know?”

Havre opened the game with a strong start on both sides of the ball, with seniors Kyndall Keller and Kadia Miller sharing the scoring. Along with Sadie Filius and Loy Waid, the Ponies kept up the pace and held Park to just five points to lead 15-5 after the first quarter.

Then Jessa Chvilicek hit a pair of 3-pointers within a 10-0 run in the second stanza to put Havre further ahead. The offense kept on scoring, while the defense pushed the narrative of a brick wall, allowing the Rangers to add just four more points to the scoreboard. The Blue Ponies kept their lead 33-9 at halftime.

After the half, HHS trucked along with more treys from Chvilicek and a consistent offensive performance by Keller to continue the drive. Meanwhile, Kodie Vondra worked to put up some baskets for Livingston, but Havre still led big 49-15 after the third period.

The Rangers came to life in the fourth quarter, though, with Vondra and the team putting up 17 points, their biggest quarter of the game. But, in the end, the Blue Ponies did not falter and secured their first Eastern A win.

Kraske told Scherting of 406 Sports that he was glad to see other players on the team do well against the Rangers, too.

“It was nice, too, we could play all 12 kids. Get some good minutes for those younger kids because they’ll be here next year battling it out.”

Keller had 13 points against Park, while Miller dropped nine points and 12 rebounds. Chvilicek was perfect on treys, too. Vondra put up 12 points to lead the Rangers.

Now, Havre will meet No. 2 Billings Central in the Eastern A semifinals tonight at 8 to fight for a spot in the championship and a ticket to state. Havre played Billings Central back in December, and also in the 2019 Eastern A championship game.

The Havre boys also return to action in Billings today with a loser-out game against Glendive.

Havre 59, Livingston 32

Havre 15 18 16 10 – 59

Livingston 5 4 6 17 – 32

Havre – Kyndall Keller 13, Kadia Miller 9, Sam Oliver 1, Kylie Walker 2, Loy Waid 6, Jessa Chvilicek 9, Sadie Filius 6, Katie Wirtzberger 4, Britton Paulson 3, Yelena Miller 6. Totals: 23 9-12 59.

Livingston – Kodie Vondra 12, Rulean Floyd 6, Shannan Nelson 3, Rainna Floyd 2, Abby Kokot 8. Totals: 10 11-14 32.