On a roll: Pony girls turn back Rustlers

The Havre High girls basketball team is about one thing — winning. And for the last month, no matter who the opponent or what the circumstances have been, the Blue Ponies just keep finding ways to do just that, win.

So, even though getting consecutive wins over Class AA rivals Great Falls High and CMR on the same weekend is not a normal occurrence for Havre, the Ponies made it seem ho-hum as they knocked off the Rustlers 55-46 Saturday in the HHS gymnasium. The win was the eighth straight for Havre, which is now 11-2 on the season as well as a combined 3-0 against GFH and CMR.

“I thought our kids played really well in the second half,” HHS head coach Dustin Kraske said. “We had more of a sense of urgency on the defense and that led to better things on the offensive end of the floor.”

The Ponies can beat a team in a multitude of ways, but Saturday’s win over the Rustlers followed a familiar formula of stifling defense and clutch 3-point shooting. As always, HHS made it difficult for CMR to get into a rhythm offensively but at the same time, the Ponies were on fire from beyond the arc, and in particular Naomi Terry, who connected four times from downtown in key situations on her way to 16 points.

“My teammates have a lot of confidence in me and I have a lot of confidence in myself,” Terry said. “We know that we can all shoot but it’s nice to get passes from Morgan (Mazurkiewicz) and Dani (Wagner). It’s good to know that they have confidence in me to make it. That helps a lot.

“I think it’s pretty sweet,” she added about beating GFH and CMR back-to-back. “They are both really good teams. It’s nice to go out there and D them up and take them out of their place I feel like. I think it’s really cool.”

Both teams struggled to score out of the gate, yet Havre built an early three-point lead thanks to a Terry jumper and at the end of the first quarter, HHS held a 7-6 advantage.

In the second quarter, CMR grabbed the lead momentarily after two free throws, but it didn’t last long as Mazurkeiwicz, who poured in a game-high 17 points for the Ponies, converted a three-point play to put Havre up 10-8. Minutes later, Terry hit her first trey of the night and HHS was up 13-8 with 5:16 to play in the opening half.

The two teams traded baskets back and forth for the next few minutes, but following a technical foul on Kraske, Taylor Edwards made two free throws and suddenly CMR was within one at 17-16 with under a minute before the intermission.

Yet, the Ponies answered as they seemingly always do with a pair of 3-point daggers. The first came from Mazurkiewicz. The second came from Terry as time expired in the quarter, giving Havre a 23-18 halftime lead.

Lindsay Martinez opened the third with a score to trim the Havre lead to three, but Terry hit again from beyond the arc to push it to six. Later in the quarter, with the Ponies up five, Terry hit her fourth trey of the game and made the score 32-24. Following a Mazurkiewicz buzzer beater to end the third, HHS led 37-27.

Havre wasted no time in the final stanza extending its lead as Mazurkiewicz scored and Wagner hit a triple to put the Ponies up 42-29 with more than six minutes left to play. CMR battled back and got within eight but a Ceyara Plante three with 3:38 increased the lead back to 12.

Baskets from Holly Purkett and Terry in the next minute helped the Ponies protect their double-digit lead and despite 3-pointers late from Edwards and Mady Shawinski of CMR, Havre was never threatened again and held on for the nine-point victory.

In all, the Ponies connected from deep nine times in the game compared to just three for CMR. And while Mazurkiewicz and Terry were the high-scorers for Havre, Wagner also pitched in with eight, while Plante and Lindsey Kudrna each added six.

Edwards was solid in a losing effort for the Rustlers as she scored a team-high 16 points. Brianna Easton had 14.

Even in the face of victory, the Ponies are not satisfied and know that if they want to successfully defend their Class A state title, they have work to do.

“We just need to keep working,” Kraske said. “And keep battling each other in practice. There are some things that we need to work on. We haven’t been defending as well on the second night of two games so that’s something we need to fix. Our offense also has some things that we need to work on.”

After the sweep of their AA rivals, the Ponies will turn their attention to Fairfield. Havre will travel to take on the Eagles Friday in a marquee matchup of defending state champions. The Ponies won in Class A last season, while the Eagles hold the Class B title and are currently on a 118-game win streak. After taking on Fairfield, the Ponies will return home to battle Central A rival Lewistown in the HHS gymnasium this Saturday.

Havre 55, CMR 46

CMR 6 12 9 19 – 46

Havre 7 16 14 18 – 55

Havre – Ceyara Plante 6, Dani Wagner 8, Morgan Mazurkiewicz 17, Naomi Terry 16, Holly Purkett 2, Lindsey Kudrna 6. Totals: 21 4 -9.

CMR – Mady Shawinski 6, Briana Easton 14, Taylor Edwards 16, Addison Gardner 4, Lindsay Martinez 2, Cailey Froehle 4. Totals: 16 7-9.

3-pointers – Plante 2, Wagner 1, Mazurkiewicz 2, Terry 4, Shawinski 2, Edwards 1. Team fouls – CMR 10, Havre 14. Fouled out – none.