Hi-Line Athlete Profile: Lizzi Haney, Havre High basketball

The Havre High girls basketball team has been a juggernaut the past few years with two straight state championships. While the All-State players have gotten the attention during these runs, role players such as Lizzi Haney should not be forgotten. While she may not get the credit, she has enjoyed the ride alongside her teammates.

"It's really cool to see the girls do it because the last two years, I've been a role player," Haney said. "I've learned a lot from them and I definitely look up to the girls that were on the teams. It's definitely taught me work ethic and how to be a part of a team and be a good teammate."

Over the years, Haney has found her role on the championship rosters. While she is not one of the Ponies' primary scoring options, she has contributed with her passing and especially her defense.

"The thing about Havre basketball is that if you don't play defense, you don't play," Haney said. "Playing hard just means playing defense and just working your butt off all the time, so I have to find that grit to be good."

Haney has been playing basketball for years as she began playing city league in the third grade. She now begins her senior season alongside the core of Avery Carlson, Molly Huse and Yelena Miller. As a veteran on the team, Haney now finds herself as a leader for the Ponies.

"It's different because we have a lot of younger girls on the team and they are really good," Haney said. "(I have to) just show them the ropes and then hopefully they can lead them in a couple years too."

Haney usually finds herself playing sports or doing something outdoors. She just finished up volleyball where she helped the Ponies take second at state and will then play softball in the spring. Outside of school and sports, Haney spends her time outdoors as she likes to ski, kayak and paddleboard.

Once high school is done, Haney will attend Montana Tech to hopefully major in chemistry to eventually become an engineer. Before then, she hopes she and the Ponies can bring home another state championship.

"We'll just need to execute our plays and definitely play a lot of defense," Haney said. "It's the little things that we need to do if we want to find success so working together as a team is probably the biggest part of it."

After losing their season opener to Laurel last weekend, the Ponies will play Billings Central at Havre High Gymnasium this Saturday at 4 p.m. It will be a rematch of the last two state championship games, so it should be a tough match. Before she and the Ponies get on the court to face the Rams in their home opener, the Havre Daily News got the chance to ask Haney five questions.

HDN: What do you look forward to about your home opener this weekend?

Haney: "It'll definitely be really fun because it's our first game and we have good competition coming in. Everybody in Havre is so supportive so it'll probably be a packed gym and we love playing in the corral."

HDN: What do you look forward to about playing Billings Central once again?

Haney: "We definitely have a rivalry growing not only in basketball, but in the other sports too. So we have a chip on our back for them so it'll be fun to fight them."

HDN: What do you enjoy the most about basketball?

Haney: "I like the pace of it. It's a lot more quick than softball and volleyball and the atmosphere is cool. We have a lot of support in Havre."

HDN: What are your favorite memories involving basketball?

Haney: "In middle school when we were on a travel team with all of our friends, we just went into tournaments together as a group and we just got to play together. We won a lot but when we lost, it was interesting and we learned from it and we've just been playing together all through that time."

HDN: Once you're done with Havre High basketball, what do you think you will miss the most?

Haney: "I'll definitely miss the atmosphere most. Also, the girls that I've been playing with since we've been in the third grade and just getting out here every day and keep going to work. It's going to be different to not have those practices every day and the open gyms all summer and just constantly getting in the gym to go practice. I'll definitely have a lot of free time but I don't want to wish it away for anything."