Havre girls basketball starts conference play strong

After an overtime loss at Billings Central, the Havre High girls basketball team was looking to bounce back in the friendly confines of Havre High Gymnasium this past weekend. If their games were any indication, the Blue Ponies have already put that loss well behind them as they defeated Glendive, 54-21, Friday and then defeated Sidney, 69-26, Saturday.

"It's a nice two games for us. I thought the second half (against Sidney) was maybe as well as we've played collectively," HHS head coach Dustin Kraske said. "I thought our kids were focused, ready to go and our rotations were good."

The Ponies started the weekend Friday night with a strong win over Glendive. The Ponies faced a slow start to open the game, but they were still able to grind out a 6-1 lead halfway through the first quarter. Jade Wendland led the way with a 3-pointer and a made free throw during this stretch.

But the Havre offense failed to take off as the Ponies only led 10-7 at the end of the first quarter. While they missed some open shots, Kraske believes the Red Devils did a good job with their defensive pressure to start the game.

"Glendive's defense, I think, was pretty salty and it appeared that they weren't giving Yelena Miller a whole lot of space," Kraske said. "They were giving us open looks and we missed them."

But the Ponies were able to get things rolling on offense with a 9-0 run to start the second quarter. Lacy Preeshl led the Ponies with five points during this run, but she credited the team's defensive efforts to start the frame.

"I think we just had a lot of energy coming into the second and our defense is really what got us going," Preeshl said.

The Devils tried to respond but Havre went into halftime with a 23-12. The Ponies carried their momentum into the third quarter as they continued to pull away. Emilee Chambliss and Wendland each scored five points in the third to lead the Ponies. At the end of the third, Havre was in complete control with a 42-16 lead.

"We put a little more pressure on the basketball, trapped a little bit and our kids made some plays and got some quick baskets early," Kraske said about the team pulling away.

Over the final eight minutes of the game, the Ponies cruised to a victory. Wendland finished the game with a team-high 15 points. Preeshl also played well with a season-high 13 points. Only three players scored for Glendive with Codi Nagle leading the way with nine points.

The Ponies played another strong game in their win over Sidney Saturday. Most of the first quarter saw the teams go back and forth with the lead. With just under two minutes left in the quarter, Leah Entz made her jump shot to give Sidney a 9-8 lead. But the Ponies responded with buckets from Kyanna Jarvis and Wendland to take a 12-9 lead to end the quarter.

After another score from Jarvis to start the second quarter, the Eagles went on a 4-0 run to cut their deficit to one point. Over the next five minutes, the Ponies took control of the game with a 15-0 run. Sadie Filius and Miller led the way with seven points during the run. As they went into halftime, the Ponies led 31-15. Kraske believes the Ponies' ability to put distance on the scoreboard came from their defensive intensity.

"If you can play good defense and make the few extra passes, you'll get wide open shots and our kids made them," Kraske said.

The Ponies continued to dominate in the third quarter as they continued to pull away. The quarter ended with a buzzer-beating shot from Lizzi Haney to give Havre a 48-21 lead heading to the fourth.

"At halftime, we just talked about slowing down and looking for each other more and trying to play as one," Filius said about the team's second half dominance. "We played with more togetherness than we have been."

In the fourth, the Ponies coasted to the 69-26 victory. Miller and Filius led the Ponies with 15 points each. Wendland and Jarvis also played well with 11 points each. The highest-scoring players for Sidney were Taylen Hensen and Jenna Anderson with six points each.

With the strong weekend, the Ponies improved to 4-1 this season and started conference play in the Northeast A with a 2-0 record. While the Ponies are playing well, they still have plenty to improve upon moving forward.

"We have to get better at the little fundamental things that most folks don't recognize," Kraske said. "Catch with two hands faster, pass with two hands, jump to the ball, talk on defense, have your hips correct on a screen. Just fundamentals, little-detail basketball. We have to get better at that."

The Ponies will finish play in 2021 with a matchup with Lewistown at HHS Gymnasium on Tuesday at 6 p.m.

Havre 54, Glendive 21

GLE - 7 5 4 5 - 21

HAV - 10 13 19 12 - 54

GLE - Codi Nagle 9, Mallory Robinson 8, Sari Murphy 4.

HAV - Jade Wendland 15, Lacy Preeshl 13, Emilee Chambliss 6, Kyanna Jarvis 5, Avery Carlson 5, Yelena Miller 4, Danni Wirtzberger 3, Sadie Filius 2, Lizzy Haney 1.

Havre 69, Sidney 26

SID - 9 6 6 5 - 26

HAV - 12 19 17 21 - 69

SID - Taylen Hensen 6, Jenna Anderson 6, Sophie Peters 5, Savanna Anderson 5, Kendyl Wache 2, Leah Entz 2.

HAV - Yelena Miller 15, Sadie Filius 15, Kyanna Jarvis 11, Jade Wendland 11, Lacy Preeshl 6, Avery Carlson 5, Emilee Chambliss 2, Molly Huse 2.