Havre girls basketball picks up first wins

This past weekend on the road, the Havre High girls basketball team finally got in the win column with wins against conference foes Glendive and Sidney. On Friday night, the Blue Ponies defeated Glendive, 63-33, and then picked up a 65-46 win at Sidney Saturday. After an 0-2 start to the season, HHS head Dustin Kraske was happy to see his team play well.

"They played really well. We were very pleased," Kraske said.

The Ponies opened the weekend on Friday night with their win over Glendive. After the Devils scored to take the lead, Amaya Jarvis knocked down a 3-pointer to give the Ponies the lead. Then after a Glendive free throw, Jarvis made another three to give the Ponies a 6-3 lead. Avery Carlson followed that up with a three of her own to make it 9-3 late in the first quarter.

The Devils scored a basket, but Carlson then made a basket and a three to add onto the lead. Tierra Parker and Danni Wirtzberger made a pair of baskets to end the quarter to give the Ponies a 18-5 lead.

The Ponies opened the second quarter with an 8-0 run to stretch the lead even further. After Carlson scored to start the run, Ariana Gary made a basket and a pair of free throws. Sierra Parker capped off the run with a bucket to make the score 26-5 halfway through the second quarter.

The Devils played better over the rest of the half, but the Ponies maintained momentum as they took a 34-14 lead into the halftime break. With the large halftime lead, the Ponies cruised in the second half to earn their first win of the season and in the Northeast A. Gary finished the game with a team-high 11 points while Amaya Jarvis and Tierra Parker each scored ten points.

The Ponies faced more trouble in their win over Sidney on Saturday. The Ponies started strong with a 3-pointer from Tierra Parker to take the lead. After a Sidney bucket, Parker scored again. Following another Sidney bucket, Lizzi Haney knocked down a three to give Havre an 8-4 lead.

But the Eagles went on a 4-0 run to tie the game. Even after Parker made a pair of free throws to retake the lead, Sidney scored to tie the game, 10-10, to end the first quarter.

The Ponies opened the second with a three from Wirtzberger to retake the lead. After a Sidney bucket, Jarvis scored herself to make it 15-12. The Eagles responded with a bucket and a free throw to tie the game once again.

After Jarvis scored to retake the lead, the Eagles knocked down a three to give Sidney its first lead of the game. But Jarvis responded with a three of her own to give Havre a 20-18 lead. After Sidney scored to tie the game again, Jarvis knocked down another three to make it 23-20.

Jarvis scored again to add onto the lead. After some free throws by the Eagles, Haney knocked down a three from the corner for the Ponies. In the closing moments of the second, the Eagles scored to cut Havre's lead to 28-24 heading into halftime.

Looking to put the game away, the Ponies opened the third on a 10-1 run. Tierra Parker started the quarter with a three and over the next few minutes, Sierra Parker made a pair of layups and Kyanna Jarvis made a layup and a free throw to help the Ponies take a 38-25 lead late in the quarter.

The Eagles tried to respond as they cut the deficit to 40-30, but the Ponies then ended the quarter on a 7-2 run to extend the lead to 47-32. Gary led the way with five points during this stretch.

The Eagles did not give up as they came back in the fourth to cut the Ponies' lead to 52-41. But over the last four minutes of the game, the Ponies went on a 13-5 run to close it out. It was a team effort as Amaya Jarvis, Sierra Parker and Gary all scored four points in the clutch. Amaya led the Ponies with 17 points while Tierra Parker contributed 12 points.

The Ponies are now 2-2 on the season with a 2-0 mark to start conference competition. The Ponies now only have two more games left before the holiday break. As they move forward, Kraske hopes to see the Ponies build on this weekend's success and continue to improve.

"We'll come back after the Christmas holiday and really continue to develop fundamentals and work on playing together," Kraske said. "Our kids have done a really nice job the last couple of weeks and we're pleased with our progress so far and I look forward to continuing to get better."

The HHS girls basketball team will next play Malta this Tuesday night at 7:30 p.m. at Havre High Gymnasium.

Havre 63, Glendive 33

HAV - 18 16 13 16 - 63

GLE - 5 9 11 8 - 33

HAV - Ariana Gary 11, Amaya Jarvis 10, Tierra Parker 10, Avery Carlson 8, Kyanna Jarvis 7, Danni Wirtzberger 4, Sierra Parker 4, Britton Elliot 3, Molly Huse 2, Kenzie Kallenberger 2, Ela Harbor 2.

GLE - C. Nagle 11, S. Murphy 10, M. Robinson 5, J. Harrison 4, J. Schock 2, K. Nissley 1.

Havre 65, Sidney 46

HAV - 10 18 19 18 - 65

SID - 10 14 8 14 - 46

HAV - Amaya Jarvis 17, Tierra Parker 12, Ariana Gary 9, Lizzi Haney 8, Sierra Parker 8, Kyanna Jarvis 6, Danni Wirtzberger 4, Elle Verploegen 2.

SID - Savanna Anderson 13, Leah Entz 12, Sophie Peters 8, Amiya Steinbeisser 5, Kendyl Wacha 5, Mari Nelson 2.