Hi-Line Athlete Profile: Ceyara Plante, Havre High Basketball

The Havre High girls basketball team has had a great run the past few seasons. But, even with all the Blue Ponies have achieved, their future is still bright. And a big reason for that is a slew of talented, young players in the program such as Ceyara Plante.

Plante, who will be a junior next season, is one of many young players who HHS head coach Dustin Kraske will be counting on to fill the void of graduated seniors like Morgan and Tori Mazurkiewicz, as well as Lindsey Kudrna and Rachel Majeres.

Of course it will be hard to fill the shoes of all the seniors and especially All-State performer Morgan Mazurkiewicz, but one exciting thing about Plante is her versatility. Not only is Plante a capable scorer and shooter, but she is also a solid defender and has worked to become a better ball-handler.

Last season, in limited action off the bench, Plante, who played in 22 games for Havre a season ago (including postseason tournaments) flashed her potential as she averaged 3.8 points per game to go along with 2.8 rebounds.

Yet, she has already proven she can produce when it counts as she had multiple double-digit scoring games last season, was third on the team in 3-point shooting (out of players with at least 10 attempts) and was the only player other than Morgan Mazurkiewicz, Naomi Terry and Dani Wagner to post double digits in both assists and steals.

Now, with the Ponies looking to contend for another Class A state championship in 2015-16, Plante and her teammates are hard at work this summer trying to improve. One way that they can do that is by participating in the Havre High girls basketball camp, which was held at the HHS gymnasium this week.

There was a good turnout for the camp as Kraske worked with players from both the high school and middle school levels. In addition to going through drills and learning fundamental basketball skills, the girls got to play a 5-on-5 tournament as well just to throw in a bit of fun.

Other than that, this summer has been about work for the Ponies and especially for Plante, who was also a junior varsity volleyball player a season ago. She has been working since the season ended to get stronger and better. And with her junior season just around the corner, it appears she is on track to be a big factor and make an impact next season.

This week Plante and her teammates were at basketball camp, but before it concluded, the Havre Daily News caught up with her for five questions.

HDN: So have you been playing a lot of basketball this summer?

Plante: "Yes. I have been really focused on improving and getting better. And we have played in some tournaments, we played in one last weekend in Fairfield. It was a little rough, but we learned a lot about ourselves."

HDN: How do you think basketball camp helps you guys get better as a team?

Plante: "I think it just helps us to get to know each other and what we are good at. I think it has given me confidence to know that I can shoot and do some other things, but it lets us get better together.

HDN: What is your goal for this season?

Plante: "I want to try and be a starter. That is my goal. That is what I think about when I am out here or shooting around. I have been working on getting stronger, and I didn't do track so I could spend time getting stronger. We are only going to have one senior, so some of us need to step up."

HDN: So is coach Kraske all business during camp or does he let you guys have some fun?

Plante: "He makes us work hard when we are going through the drills and stuff, but he lets us have a little bit of fun, too.

HDN: Do you have any fun plans for the summer?

Plante: "No, not really. Just playing basketball. We are going to be playing in some more tournaments so that will be fun. I also really want to get a job."