George Ferguson
Havre Daily News sports editor
gferguson@havredailynews.com
It wasn't the prettiest performance from either team, but the No. 1 Class AA CMR Rustlers girls basketball team did just enough to cast aside the Havre Blue Ponies Thursday night at the CMR Fieldhouse in Great Falls.
The Rustlers handed Havre its fourth straight loss, 68-47.
It was the first game for either team in nearly 20 days and it showed. Havre committed a game-high 25 turnovers and CMR didn't fare much better, giving the ball away 22 times. Neither team shot the ball particularly well from the field, but the Rustlers made five 3-pointers, including three from senior Kassie Holmlund. The game included 38 total fouls.
Despite obvious rust early on, CMR managed to get a leg up on Havre midway through the first quarter, and by the end of the first eight minutes, the Rustlers had a 15-10 lead. From there they never trailed again.
CMR outscored Havre 19-12 in the second stanza to give itself a comfortable 34-22 lead at intermission. And a 18-10 run in the third period pretty much sealed Havre's fate. The Ponies played the Rustlers tough down the stretch but it was a case of too little too late.
Sophomore Mary Anderson was dominant in the paint, as was CMR standout Kelsey Hopkins. Anderson scored a career-high 17 points and Hopkins added 12. But Hopkins' biggest contribution came in the rebounding department where she pulled down 13 boards, including nine offensive rebounds. As a team the Rustlers dominated the boards, outrebounding Havre 45-33. Holmlund was also solid for the Rustlers, scoring 12 points, including her three treys.
Senior Alexa Lipp had a solid return to the HHS lineup after missing a pair of games with an injury. Lipp scored a team-high 13 points, including two 3-pointers. Sophomore Tricia Samson had her best varsity game to date, chipping in with 10 points off the bench. Havre's leading scorer, Steph Flatau, was held to eight points and six rebounds on the night. Kelsey Evans chipped in with six points.
The loss drops Havre's overall record to 2-4 this season, while the Rustlers improved to 6-0.
The Ponies will be back in action tonight when they host Class B Cut Bank at 7:30 at the HHS gymnasium.
Rustlers 68, Ponies 47
Havre 10 12 10 15 - 47
C.M. Russell 15 19 18 16 - 68
Havre High - Kelsey Evans 1-6 3-4 6, Lena Suek 2-5 0-0 4, Alexa Lipp 3-11 5-7 13, Steph Flatau 3-9 2-2 8, Keelie Solomon 1-8 2-2 4, Tricia Samson 3-4 4-4 10, Hope Hedges 0-3 0-0 0, Katie Mariani 1-1 0-0 2, Stephanie Stremcha 0-2 0-0 0, Sarah Blessum 0-1 0-0 0, Christina Armstrong 0-0 0-0 0. Totals: 14-51 16-19 47.
C.M. Russell High - Kassie Holmlund 3-4 3-4 12, Dani Walsh 0-2 0-0 0, Kelsey Hopkins 3-15 6-7 12, Shantell Marquis 2-11 0-0 4, Mary Anderson 7-9 3-3 17, Quincy Carter 1-3 0-0 2, Alyssa Frank 1-2 0-1 3, Maxy Waltari 4-8 0-0 9, Maghan Yurek 0-2 1-2 1, Sarah DeGooyer 0-1 0-0 0, Jordah Foster 0-2 0-0 0, Jill Zeren 0-1 0-0 0, Amanda Barringer 2-3 4-4 8, Bobbi Lee 0-0 0-0 0. Totals: 23-63 17-21 68.
Total fouls: Havre 20, CMR 18. Fouled out: Evans. Technical fouls: Havre coach Wirt, Stremcha. Three-point goals: Havre 3-15 (Lipp 2-3, Evans 1-4), CMR 5-16 (Holmlund 3-3, Frank 1-2, Waltari 1-3). Rebounds: Havre 33 (Flatau 6), CMR 45 (Hopkins 12, Marquis 6). Assists: Havre 4 (Evans 4), CMR 16 (Carter 3, Marquis 3). Steals: Havre 6 (Lipp 2), CMR 21 (Marquis 5, Hopkins 3). Turnovers: Havre 25, CMR 22.
