Stampeding their Rivals: Ponies sweep

After two impressive wins to open the season, the Havre High girls basketball team was looking for a repeat performance this past weekend. This time, the Blue Ponies competition was within the Central A conference.

And just like Havre did against Glendive and Sidney last weekend, it dominated its opponents defensively. The Blue Ponies allowed a total of 59 points in the two games inside the HHS gymnasium Friday and Saturday night, as they earned consecutive wins over Livingston and Belgrade by the scores of 61-22 and 67-37.

"I thought our kids just really came out and set the tone defensively," HHS head coach Dustin Kraske said. "And at this point in the season, we put ourselves in the best possible position to win our league and that's what you want to do."

In the first conference home game Friday against Livingston, the Havre defense limited the Rangers to just four first-quarter points. But on the other end of the floor, Kyndall Keller dominated, scoring the first 15 points of the game, as the Ponies grabbed a 17-4 lead.

"She really came out and was on it," Kraske said. "I am not sure what Livingston was trying to do defensively, but it seemed like she was open a lot. And to her credit, she recognized that and took advantage of it."

The early onslaught continued for Havre, which then allowed the Rangers to score just three points in the second quarter. Freshman Kylie Walker beat the buzzer with a 3-pointer just before half, and at the break, the Ponies led 27-7.

In the third quarter, Keller added a 3-pointer, which was later matched by Marca Herron, putting Havre in front 40-16 after three. In the fourth, the Ponies added 21 more points to wrap up the 39-point win. Keller led both teams with 26 points, but Danielle Wallace also pitched in with 12. Kaylee Nystrom added six. Abby Kokot led the Rangers with six. Danielle Babcox also wound up with five.

After easily dispatching of Livingston, Havre turned its attention to Belgrade, a Class A state semifinalist from a season ago, just like the Ponies. And early on, Belgrade lived up to the part, grabbing a 6-2 lead after two quick scores from Gabby Weber. Yet buckets inside by Wallace and Kadia Miller allowed Havre to tie the score at 9-9, then a 3-pointer at the first-quarter buzzer by Ryen Olson put the Ponies ahead 12-9.

In the second quarter, Wallace continued to have her way inside, scoring to cap a 9-0 Havre run, which gave HHS a 17-8 lead. Herron then got in on the act, knocking down two triples in short succession to give the Ponies a 23-9 edge. At the half, following a bucket by Keller right before the buzzer, Havre led 35-15.

In the third quarter, Wallace seemed to score at will inside as Havre opened up a 44-20 advantage. Olson's second 3-pointer of the night put the Ponies in front 51-22 and at the end of the quarter, the lead was 53-26.

For good measure, Keller hit twice from deep in the final stanza as the Ponies ran away from Belgrade and went on to win by 30, 67-37. Keller finished with a game-high 19 points to lead Havre to the win. Wallace added 16, including nine in the second half. Olson added seven, while Miller, Nystrom and Herron all pitched in with six. Weber led the Panthers with 17.

"Danielle, she is doing a really nice job getting open inside," Kraske said. "And we are doing a good job of getting her the ball. I just think that everyone is playing well right now. You look at Marca Herron, she's not scoring a ton of points, but she doesn't need to, her role is to help manage the game."

The Havre girls (4-0) will be on the road for the first time this season Tuesday in Malta. Tip-off is set for 7:30 p.m.

Havre 61, Livingston 22

Livingston 4 3 9 6 - 22

Havre 17 10 13 21 - 61

Livingston: Kart 3, Saarel 3, Schoenen 1, Vondra 3, Abby Kokot 7, Danielle Babcox 5.

Havre: Kyndall Keller 26, Kylie Walker 3, Kaylee Nystrom 6, Kadia Miller 4, Marca Herron 3, Katie Wirtzberger 4, Danielle Wallace 12, Kyley Verlogegan 3.

Havre 67, Belgrade 37

Belgrade 9 6 11 11 - 37

Havre 12 23 18 14 - 67

Belgrade - K. Hohenstein 4, Maya Reed 2, Gabby Weber 17, B. Christensen 4, Hannah Gee 6, N. Carlson 4.

Havre - Ryen Olson 7, Kyndall Keller 19, Kylie Walker 2, Kassidy Compton 1, Kaylee Nystrom 6, Kadia Miller 6, Marca Herron 6, Danielle Wallace 16, Kyley Verploegen 4.