Blue Ponies aim for fourpeat

The Havre High girls basketball team has been one of the premier programs in the state of Montana over the past few years with three straight Class A State championships. Now this weekend, the Blue Ponies will look to make it four in a row when they head to Butte to compete in the Class A State Tournament.

The Ponies will begin the tournament Thursday at 1:30 p.m. when they face the Browning Indians. Browning is 15-7 this season and qualified for state after taking fourth in the Western A Divisional Tournament. During the season, the Indians have been led by the stellar play of Jerel White Grass.

The Ponies head into the tournament with an 18-3 record. They have been playing exceptionally well as of late with a 10-game winning streak and they are coming off an Eastern A Divisional championship. As the Ponies look to win their fourth straight state title, they will rely on the likes of Ariana Gary and Amaya Jarvis.

If Havre wins its tournament opener, it would face either Frenchtown or Billings Central. Those two teams will face each other Thursday at noon to open the tournament. Frenchtown enters the contest with an overall record of 19-2 and is coming off a second-place finish in the Western A Divisionals. The Broncs will look to Mason Quinn and Madison Kaufman to lead the way.

The Billings Central Rams enter the tournament with an 18-2 record and are coming off a third-place finish at the Eastern A Divisionals. As the Rams look to go on a run, they will need top players such as Kam Reinker and Coral Old Bull to excel.

Later on Thursday at 6:30p.m., Miles City will face Dillon. The Miles City Cowgirls are 18-3 this season and are coming off a second-place finish at the Eastern A Divisional. If they are going to go on a run, the Cowgirls will need Alli Glasscock and Jillian Kanduch to play well.

The Dillon Beavers head into the tournament with an overall record of 18-4 and they just finished third in the Western A Divisionals. On offense, the Beavers will look to rely on Kenlieigh Graham and Sydney Petersen this weekend.

Thursday will wrap up at 8 p.m. with Big Fork facing off with Lockwood. The Big Fork Valkyries are 20-1 this year and just won the Western A Divisional championship. Braeden Gunlock and Paeten Gunlock will look to continue their strong seasons in order to lead the Valkyries on a run.

The Lockwood Lions are 15-7 this season and are coming off a fourth-place finish in the Eastern A Divisionals. If the Lions are going to make a deep run this weekend, they will need the likes of Dani Jordan and Tailey Harris to play well.

The tournament's semifinal games will take place Friday at 6:30 and 8 p.m. Then Saturday, the consolation game will be at 5 p.m. and the championship game will be at 8:30 p.m.

As the Ponies look to play deep into this weekend in order to claim another title, they will need to play their best ball of the year.

The HHS girls basketball team will begin the Eastern A Divisional Tournament in Butte Thursday at 1:30 p.m. when it faces Browning.