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News you can use
Molly Huse and the Havre High girls basketball team hosts the top team in Class B tonight when the Malta M-Ettes come to the HHS gymnasium. First though, the Havre High boys will play Malta, with the tip-off set for 6 p.m. The Pony girls game will follow at the HHS gymnasium.
Both the Havre High boys and girls basketball teams are coming off tough road trips this past weekend and they will not get time to rest this week. Tonight at Havre High Gymnasium, both the HHS basketball teams will look to pick up wins as they play Malta in a non-conference game.
The HHS boys will get the night started with its game against Malta at 6. The Blue Ponies defeated Malta, 40-39, on the road last year, so HHS head coach Walynn Burgess expects another tough game tonight.
"They're going to come out and play with high energy when they get there," Burgess said. "They've got a lot of returners from last year's team that gave us some fits when we played over there. So with another year of growth for some of their young players, we're going to have to play really good basketball."
The Malta Mustangs enter the game with a 2-2 record so far this season. The Mustangs have several players that can score on any given night. Eli Hanson has been consistently racking up the points while players such as Bohdi Brenden and Treyton Wilke are capable of going off against the Ponies.
The Ponies enter the game with a 3-1 record this season. Xavier Butler has been the leading scorer averaging 17.0 points a game on 52 percent shooting. He has also been good on the boards averaging 7.0 rebounds a game. Tre Gary is also off to a strong start this season averaging 10.5 points a game for the Ponies.
Even though they have already played four games this season, this will be the Ponies' first at HHS Gymnasium this winter. After playing their season opener at Armory Gymnasium, the Ponies have been on the road the past two weekends. Now that they finally get to play at home, Burgess believes the Ponies will be looking forward to showing their fans what they are capable of.
"When we play in the Corral, it's always something special. I know the kids are really excited to get in front of the home fans and show how much work they've put in," Burgess said. "We have the best fans in the state. We know that they're going to keep bringing us some extra energy."
The Ponies defeated Glendive and Sidney last weekend. With two wins in conference play and just two more games before their holiday break, Burgess looks to see continued improvement tonight.
"We're always just trying to keep building more and more towards that end of February time and the kids are really buying into that this year," Burgess said.
After the boys wrap up, the HHS girls basketball team will tip off against Malta at 7:30 p.m. The Ponies and M-Ettes played in a tough game last year that the Ponies won, 43-40, so HHS head coach Dustin Kraske expects another tough fight tonight.
"Malta has a really nice team," Kraske said. "I think that the game will be a tremendous challenge. Their senior class is very good, so it'll be nice and it'll be fun for a cold night in December."
The M-Ettes are off to a hot start this season with a 4-0 record thanks to the play of many players. Allison Kunze is off to a strong start averaging 19.0 points a game this season. Madison Williamson has also been playing well with an average of 13.75 points a game and Addy Anderson has contributed with an average of 11.5 points a contest.
The Ponies are off to a 2-2 start this season and have won two in a row. Amaya Jarvis has been off to a strong start this winter averaging 17.5 points a contest. Tierra Parker has also been playing better as of late averaging 11 points in the past two games.
The Ponies had a successful road trip where they started 2-0 in the Northeast A. It was also a good way to get on track after an 0-2 start to the year. As they head into a tough game tonight, Kraske just wants to see the intensity that the Ponies had in their two victories this past weekend.
"I'd like us to play with the energy that we played with," Kraske said. "If we could get that level of energy more consistently in our program, all of us would be pleased with the results."
The HHS boys basketball team will tip off against Malta at HHS Gymnasium tonight at 6 p.m. The HHS girls basketball team will then tip off against Malta right after.
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