Havre girls win tenth straight, boys fall to Eagles

No team in the Northeast A has slowed down the Havre High girls basketball team yet this season. The Blue Ponies are undefeated in conference play so far this year and they have won each game by at least 20 points.

The Lewistown Eagles were tasked with slowing down the Ponies Saturday at the Metra in Billings. They did play the Ponies closer than any other conference team this season but the Ponies remained unblemished in the Northeast A as they won 63-49.

"I thought we played pretty well. Our kids played hard," HHS head coach Dustin Kraske said.

Just like every conference game this season, the Ponies set the tone early. Yelena Miller got her night started on the right foot as she scored 12 points in the opening frame. Her play led the Ponies to a 21-11 lead at the end of the quarter.

The Ponies continued to play well on both sides of the court in the second quarter. Miller continued to dominate for the Ponies as she scored seven more points in the quarter. At halftime, the Ponies held a sizable 37-20 lead.

"Our kids, they do all the work," Kraske said about the strong start. "They trapped well, they rotated well and they threw the ball ahead."

The Ponies continued to keep their feet on the pedal as they started the third quarter on a 16-2 run to further stretch out their comfortable lead. In the fourth quarter, the Eagles finally found some offensive momentum but it was not enough to make up the deficit.

Many Ponies had stellar nights to lead Havre to victory. Jade Wendland continued to play well as she contributed 13 points to the winning effort. Miller finished the night with a season-high 27 points. Kraske credits her teammates for helping her score throughout the night.

"Our kids did a wonderful job throwing it in there to her," Kraske said. "She just did her thing. She scored well, rebounded well and defended well. She was ready to go."

With the win, the Ponies improved to 12-1 and they remain undefeated in the Northeast A with a 7-0 mark. They also extended their winning streak to ten straight games. The Ponies will look to finish their conference schedule undefeated this Friday night when they host Miles City at the Havre High Gymnasium.

Havre boys cannot keep up with Eagles

Heading into Saturday's game against Lewistown at the Metra in Billings, the Havre High boys basketball team was looking to improve on its previous performance against the Eagles. Back in December, the Blue Ponies played well against the No. 1 team in the state as they lost 59-55. But the Eagles showed why they are the best team in the state on Saturday as they defeated the Ponies 90-51.

"Tough environment getting down there in the Metra and playing against a pretty good team like Lewistown," HHS head coach Walynn Burgess said. "Being able to play a good team like Lewistown, it was good for us to see what we got to get to coming down the homestretch."

The Eagles set the tone early as they jumped out to an 11-0 lead to start the game. Fischer Brown got the night started for Lewistown with six straight points to start the game. The Ponies finally got some points on the board but Lewistown held a 23-13 lead at the end of the first quarter.

The Eagles continued to pull away in the second quarter. Burgess believes the Eagles raced out to an early lead because of their aggressiveness.

"They attacked us. They were getting down hill quite a bit," Burgess said. "They were highly active, hands on, getting tips on balls. Just doing a lot of little things."

At halftime, Lewistown led 47-20. Even with the game in hand, the Eagles kept the pressure up in the third quarter. Royce Robinson started the quarter with a layup and a Brown and Bryce Graham scored some buckets to extend the lead. A 3-pointer from Brown gave Lewistown a 64-34 lead halfway through the quarter.

Trailing 73-40 heading to the fourth quarter, the Ponies were unable to come back to make it a game. Caden Jenkins finished the night with 12 points to lead the Ponies. Xavier Butler chipped in ten points in the losing effort.

Brown finished the night with 32 points to lead the Eagles. Robinson also played well as he scored 22 points. Last December, the Ponies only lost, 59-55, to the Eagles at Havre High Gymnasium. Burgess believes this weekend's game was not as close but the Eagles were at full strength this time.

"They shot a really good field-goal percentage from the floor and just did a lot of different things," Burgess said. "They're a high-octane offense."

With the loss, the Ponies dropped to 6-7 on the year and 3-4 in the Northeast A. The Ponies now only have four more games until divisionals begin in a few weeks. The divisionals will be held on the same court that the Ponies lost on on Saturday, so Burgess hopes his team can use this past game to get used to it.

"Just being down in that environment and being down on that floor, that's really big for us," Burgess said. "Being able to be out there competing and see where we got to get to, that was another positive."

The Ponies will next play Friday night when they head on the road to play Miles City.

Havre girls 63, Lewistown 49

HAV - 21 16 22 4 - 63

LEW - 11 9 8 21 - 49

HAV - Yelena Miller 27, Jade Wendland 13, Lacy Preeshl 7, Avery Carlson 6, Shea Reber 2, Sadie Filius 2, Molly Huse 2, Emilee Chambliss 2, Kyanna Jarvis 2.

LEW - Lexya Burnham 14, Ida Brokemeyer 11, Aniya Ross 10, Sam Schiuchetti 3, Elsie Crouse 3, Rylee Armstrong 3, Brooke Weinheimer 2, Kim Curry 2, Ava Robinson 1.

Lewistown 90, Havre boys 51

LEW - 23 24 26 17 - 90

HAV - 13 17 10 11 - 51

HAV - Caden Jenkins 12, Xavier Butler 10, Isaac Pedraza 8, Shane Patascil 8, Caleb Spangler 4, Josh Currie 3, Jevin Jenkins 2, Terry Crawford 2, Tre Gary 2.

LEW - Fischer Brown 32, Royce Robinson 22, Bryce Graham 16, Gage Norslien 4, Luke Clinton 4, Nolan Fry 4, Maxx Ray 3, Trajan Sparks 2, Matt Golik 2, Ben Gertge 1.