Pony girls aim high in Great Falls

Three times have been the charm for the Havre Blue Ponies when it comes to the Four Seasons Arena. Now, they're going for four.

The Havre High girls basketball season isn't over yet as they qualified for the State Class A Girls Basketball Tournament after finishing second in the Eastern A Divisional last weekend. The state tournament will begin Wednesday in Great Falls as the Blue Ponies take on the Hamilton Broncs at 9 a.m.

Hamilton finished second in the Western A Divisional and second in the Southwest A after finishing 8-5 in the division. While the team isn't an offensive powerhouse as they average 41.3 points a game, they are one of the tougher defensive teams in Class A. If there is somebody on Hamilton's offense that Havre will need to focus on, it would be Layne Kearns, who averages 12.7 points a game.

"They have a nice balanced team," Havre head coach Dustin Kraske said. "They share the ball well. They play really hard. They defend very well; they change defenses a little bit. We're looking forward to the opportunity to play those guys."

Havre finished first in the Northeast A after going 10-1 in the division. Havre has one of the best offenses in Class A as they average 57.4 points per game. The Blue Ponies' offense is led by Yelena Miller (14.1 ppg) and Sadie Filius (10.9 ppg). Havre also has one of the best defenses in class A, making them a tough opponent to go against. Kraske believes that his team is physically and mentally prepared, and they will just need to focus on the specifics of each opponent.

"The prep work for the tournament for the most part is already done," Kraske said. "Now we're just going to talk more specifics about the teams that we play and what little adjustments we plan to make."

Columbia Falls and Glendive will tip-off at 11 a.m. Wednesday. Columbia Falls enters state after winning the Western A Divisional and Glendive finished fourth in the Eastern A Divisional this past weekend.

Columbia Falls went undefeated in the regular season as they finished first in the Northwest A. They had the highest-scoring offense in Class A as they averaged 58.3 points per game and also had a top defense. Columbia Falls' offense is led by Hannah Schweikert, who averages 16.5 points per game. Maddie Robinson also scores 12.1 points a game for Columbia Falls. Glendive finished second in the Northeast A after going 6-6 in the division. Glendive only averages 36.5 points per game, so they will need to either slow down Columbia Falls' potent offense or over perform on the scoreboard. One player Glendive will need to play well is Jillian Litwiller, who averages 15.5 points a game.

If Havre gets by Hamilton, the Ponies will play the winner of the game between the Wildcats and Red Devils in the semifinals Thursday at 5:30 p.m.

Ronan and Hardin will play Wednesday at 5:30 p.m. Coming into the game, Ronan finished second in the Western A Divisional and Hardin finished third in the Eastern A Divisional.

Ronan finished fourth in the Northwest A after going 8-6 in the division. Ronan's offense is in the middle of Class A teams as they average 47.3 points a game. They are also near the bottom of Class A in points allowed on the season, so Ronan will need their offense to play above their standard. One player they will need to contribute on offense is Jaylea Lunceford, who averages 10.5 points a game.

Hardin made it to the championship game of last year's state tournament, but were named co-champions after the championship game was canceled because of the COVID-19 pandemic. Hardin went 7-3 in the Southeast A to finish second in the division. Hardin has one of the best offenses in Class A as they average 56.7 points a game. Hardin's offense will be led by Kamber Good Luck (13.3 ppg) and Aiyana Big Man (10.4 ppg) as they hope to make a run in the state tournament.

The last game Wednesday will be between Billings Central and Whitefish at 7:30 p.m. This past weekend, Billings Central won the Eastern A Divisional and Whitefish finished fourth in the Western A Divisional.

Billings Central was named the co-champion of last year's state tournament after the championship game was canceled because of the COVID-19 pandemic. This year, Billings Central finished first in the Southeast A with a 9-1 division record. Billings Central has a solid offense averaging 54.5 points a game and one of the top defenses in Class A. Mya Hansen leads the offense as she averages 15.7 points a game. Billings Central's offense will also have Solei Elletson (10 ppg) to rely on.

Whitefish finished second in the Northwest A with a record of 9-5 in the division. Whitefish is in the middle of the Class A in both offense and defense. If Whitefish is going to make a run, Gracie Smyley (15.6 ppg) will need to be a driving force behind it.

The winner of the Hardin and Ronan game will face off against the winner of Central and Whitefish in the semifinals Thursday at 7:30 p.m.

Heading into this year's state tournament, Havre hopes to continue its run of state title success in Great Falls. The Ponies won it all there in 2014, 2018 and again in 2019. In order to reach those heights again, Kraske believes that his team will not only need to be ready but also need certain things to go their way.

"To win a state championship, the matchups have got to be right, mental preparation has to be right and you have got to have a little luck to go with you," Kraske said. "Our concern is how we can be the best team that we can and prepare to play Hamilton."

The State Class A Girls Basketball Tournament begins at 9 a.m. Wednesday when Havre and Hamilton compete at the Great Falls Four Seasons Arena. The tournament, which runs together with the State A boys, will conclude with Saturday's third-place game at 1 p.m. and state championship game at 5 p.m.