HHS star Sadie Filius inks with Carroll College

After helping the Havre High girls basketball team win their second state championship in three years, Sadie Filius is already looking forward to her future in basketball.

Even though she still has one year left with the Blue Ponies, she just signed with Carroll College to play for their women's basketball program. Montana State University-Northern also made her an offer but she just felt like Carroll was right for her.

"The academics were a great fit and I love the environment the team and coaches have," Filius said.

Carroll offered Filius a chance to play for their program after a strong three years in the Pony basketball program. In all three years on the varsity team, she has been named to the Class A All-State team. She has also been a member of two state championship teams with the Ponies.

In their most recent state title run, Filius made a huge impact. In the championship game against Billings Central back in March, Filius scored 18 points. Her biggest play came in the second overtime of that game, where she made a three-point play to give Havre the lead with just two minutes left in the game. She then made a couple of clutch free throws down the stretch to help close out the win for the Ponies.

Filius will be joining a Carroll College squad that has been one of the top teams in the Frontier Conference the past few seasons. This past year, Carroll went 21-3 and finished first in the Frontier with a conference record of 13-1. In this year's Frontier Conference playoffs, they defeated Montana Western in the championship game to qualify for the NAIA National Tournament.

As she joins a strong Carroll program, Filius just hopes to contribute to their winning ways and give them her best effort. After three years in the Pony program, she believes what she has learned will help her in collegiate basketball.

"I've learned to always keep my composure and to work hard all the time," Filius said.

As she attends Carroll College, she plans to major in mathematics with a focus in engineering. After Carroll, she wants to attend graduate school. At Carroll, she will also compete on their track team. But before she goes off to Carroll to continue her basketball career and studies, she hopes to make the most out of her last year as a Pony.

"I hope to continue to have fun with my teammates and continue our success," Filius said.

At Carroll, Filius will get a chance, for one season anyway, to play with another former Blue Pony great, Dani Wagner. Wagner was an NAIA All-American for the Fighting Saints a year ago, and has earned Frontier Conference honors multiple times.