Havre girls basketball stays strong in conference play

The Havre High girls basketball team has made it look easy lately and they continued to do that on the road this past weekend. In a pair of conference games, the Blue Ponies won, 65-29, at Glendive Friday night and then they won, 69-34, at Sidney to keep things rolling.

“Our older kids came out with a sense of urgency and got after it in both games and I was very pleased,” HHS head coach Dustin Kraske said.

Looking to take an early advantage, the Ponies started hot in their game against Glendive Friday night. Avery Carslon got the night started with a layup to give Havre the lead. Yelena Miller and Sadie Filius then made a pair of buckets to give Havre a 6-0 lead just a few minutes into the game. Another layup from Miller gave Havre an 8-0 lead.

Jane Harrison finally got the Red Devils on the scoreboard with a layup, but Miller responded with a pair of baskets to maintain control. Carlson then got a steal that she converted into a layup to make the lead 14-2. The Devils did capitalize on some opportunities in the final moments of the quarter, but they still trailed, 14-5, at the end of the first.

Looking to put the Devils away early, the Ponies kept up their torrid pace with a 13-0 run to start the second. Carlson continued to make an impact during this stretch with a layup and a 3-pointer. Emilee Chambliss also made her presence felt with a basket and some free throws. Even after a Sidney basket to break up the run, the Ponies continued to dominate. At halftime, the Ponies had built themselves a 36-10 lead thanks to their defense.

“We just played half-court man early and our kids bought into that, did a nice job and were able to turn them over in the half court and get some transition buckets,” Kraske said. “It was all energy and enthusiasm. Our kids did great.”

The Devils were able to get some offense going in the third quarter but they were unable to make a dent into the lead. The Havre offense played steady in the third quarter to maintain a 51-23 lead heading to the fourth. The Havre defense then shut down Glendive in the final quarter to close out the game for the win. Carlson led the Ponies with 11 points while Mallory Robinson led Glendive with 10 points.

The Ponies continued their strong play Saturday with a win at Sidney. After Sophie Peters gave Sidney the lead on a free throw, the Ponies scored six straight points to take the lead. Miller made her presence felt with a pair of layups and then Jade Wendland stole the ball and converted it into a score.

After a Daisy Snow bucket, the Ponies scored another six straight points to stretch the lead to 12-3. Even as the Eagles got some offense, they could not take momentum as the Ponies had a 21-11 lead to end the first quarter.

“Our pressure was good and our kids shared the ball well. We got some really nice transition buckets,” Kraske said about the start. “I think we need to continue to develop and incorporate that into our game as far as throwing the basketball ahead and trying to get some easy buckets in transition.”

The Ponies started the second quarter on a 13-2 run to further take control of the game. Carlson got things going with five points during the run while Miller continued to play well with four points. In the last two minutes of the half, the Ponies went on a 9-2 run to take a 43-17 lead into the break. Wendland made plays with a 3-pointer and an offensive rebound that she converted into a score.

The Ponies kept up their defensive intensity in the third quarter as they held a 54-23 lead heading to the fourth. The Eagles found some momentum on offense in the final quarter, but they could not make a dent on the scoreboard and the Ponies won the game. Wendland finished the game with 21 points while Peters led the Eagles with nine points.

The Ponies are now 10-1 on the season and are undefeated in the Northeast A with a 6-0 conference record. Since an overtime loss to Billings Central in December, the Ponies have won eight games in a row. Kraske hopes to build off these wins as they move forward with the season as they try to repeat as state champions.

“Picking up a couple conference road wins obviously put us in a nice spot,” Kraske said. “It was nice getting a lot of kids a lot of minutes. Our whole program basically closed the same amount of minutes so we put in young kids and gave them some valuable varsity experience which will only help us in the long run.”

The Ponies will return home to Havre High Gymnasium when they play Malta Tuesday night at 6 p.m.

Havre 65, Glendive 29

HAV - 14 22 15 14 - 65

GLE - 5 5 13 6 - 29

HAV - Avery Carlson 11, Yelena Miller 10, Jade Wendland 8, Emilee Chambliss 8, Kyanna Jarvis 7, Alyssa Oliver 5, Danni Wirtzberger 5, Tierra Parker 5, Sadie Filius 4.

GLE - Mallory Robinson 10, Sari Murphy 9, Mataya Tipton 5, Kadence Nissley 3, Jane Harrison 2.

Havre 69, Sidney 34

HAV - 21 22 11 15 - 69

SID - 11 6 6 11 - 34

HAV - Jade Wendland 21, Yelena Miller 14, Avery Carlson 9, Lizzi Haney 7, Kyanna Jarvis 6, Sadie Filius 4, Lacy Preeshl 2, Emilee Chambliss 2, Molly Huse 2, Tierra Parker 2.

SID - Sophie Peters 9, Taylen Hensen 8, Savanna Anderson 6, Jenna Anderson 5, Kendyl Wacha 2, Leah Entz 2, Daisy Snow 2.