They may have had a rocky start, but the Blue Ponies ended the year at the top of their game

At the end of another season, here I am writing again about how the Havre High girl's basketball team brought home another Class A State championship. Even after watching the Ponies dominate en route to a pair of state championships the past two seasons, this season that resulted in a third championship included its surprises for me and the Ponies.

It was not an easy road for the Ponies as they faced adversity earlier in the season. Through most of the year, the Ponies were without Yelena Miller due to an injury. Without her as well as Avery Carlson for several games, the Ponies looked vulnerable.

After winning last year's state title, the Ponies opened the season with close losses to Laurel and Billings Central. Even after getting on a roll in the Northeast A, the Ponies suffered a pair of close losses to Hardin and Browning in January. With these teams being likely opponents in the postseason, it was a sign that the Ponies' path to a three peat would not be so simple.

While the Ponies faced adversity without key players during the season, that gave some of the younger players a chance to emerge. Amaya Jarvis took advantage of the opportunity to become one of the best scorers for the Ponies. Other players such as Ariana Gary, Tierra Parker and Sierra Parker had their moments to shine as they waited for their star players to return. Carlson even got back in on the action after missing three games earlier in the season.

After a loss to Browning in the middle of January, the Ponies began to find their groove with some wins in the Northeast A and a road win over Malta. Then Miller returned for the Ponies and they never slowed down after that.

The Ponies demonstrated their improvement with wins over Hardin and Browning at the end of the regular season. After starting the season with a 5-4 record, the Ponies now had a 14-5 record and were riding a nine-game winning streak heading into the postseason.

At the Eastern A Divisional in Billings last month, the Ponies showed no signs of slowing down. They started the tournament in dominant fashion with a 70-40 win over Northeast A rival Sidney. After losing to Laurel at the beginning of the season, the Ponies avenged that loss with a decisive 57-43 win over the Locomotives. Then in the Eastern A Divisional championship, Havre handled Hardin for a 69-50 victory. After losing close games to Laurel and Hardin earlier in the year, the Ponies had now shown themselves to be the superior team.

The Ponies then started the Class A State Tournament in Bozeman with another pair of games against teams they lost to earlier in the year. The Ponies opened the tournament with a 73-53 win over Browning after the previous two games against Browning were decided by a total of four points.

In the semifinal, the Ponies defeated Billings Central, 70-49, to avenge another loss from earlier in the year. Even in the Ponies' championship years, the Rams have given them trouble. With such a dominant win at this stage in the season, the Ponies had shown they were clearly the better team.

In the Class A State championship game, Hardin tried to give Havre a battle and even jumped out to a 12-4 lead to start the game. But once Havre came back and took the lead heading into halftime, there was little doubt who would be hoisting the first-place trophy at the end of the night.

After opening the season with a pair of losses to future postseason opponents, the Ponies ended the season on a 15-game winning streak for a 20-4 record and a third Class A State championship. During that stretch of games, the Ponies won by an average margin of victory of 19.3 points a game.

While the season ended with elation yet again for the Ponies, they will have to say goodbye to seniors Carlson, Miller, Lizzi Haney, Molly Huse and Danni Wirtzberger. While they will miss their impact, Jarvis, Gary and the Parkers will return for the Ponies to continue making them one of the best teams in the state.