By Tiffany L. Rehbein
One of the most exciting aspects of high school basketball could be when you play a team that had won 41 consecutive basketball games, and you meet that team in loser-out action at the state tournament.
The Havre Blue Ponies (17-7) were able to experience that joy when they met the Custer County Cowgirls (21-1) Saturday morning at the State Class A girls' basketball tournament at the Butte Civic Center. The Cowgirls downed the Ponies 57-37 and eliminated them from the tournament.
The Ponies, the No. 1 seed from the Central A, were upset 40-37 in the opening round of play by the Eastern A third seed Dawson County Red Devils.
Friday afternoon in loser-out action, the Ponies defeated the Polson Pirates 47-35 to advance into Saturday morning action.
Polson opened the first quarter with a 15-10 lead behind the scoring of Cori Villegas who scored eight points in the quarter. She would not score again in the game.
Junior Alyssa Matter had six points for Havre, senior Tiffany Shrauger added two points, and sophomore Jeri Matter snatched an offensive rebound and the put-back points for the Blue Ponies in the quarter.
Although Polson opened the second quarter with a 3-pointer, Havre exploded for 10 unanswered points en route to a 19-18 lead with 4:18 remaining in the quarter.
Alyssa Matter, Shrauger, and senior Erin Patera tallied the offensive points for Havre, capitalizing on back-to-back Pirates' turnovers.
In the final four minutes of the half, Havre would score only twice. Junior Nikki Baltrusch snatched a defensive rebound and found Shrauger on the receiving end for a transition basket with 2:55 remaining to bring the Ponies within one point at 22-21.
Alyssa Matter was fouled on a drive to bucket and made the second half of the two-shot foul situation with :28 on the clock, sending the Ponies into the locker room down 25-22.
Havre outscored Polson 11-8 in the third quarter, but were still down 33-32 heading into the fourth.
"In the second half, we came out with much more intensity on the defensive end and we didn't make as many defensive mistakes," head coach Dennis Murphy said. "We had good coverage on their shooters and we boxed out much better."
Junior reserve Breyon Briese came off the bench for the Ponies and grabbed seven rebounds in the contest. She also had two steals, both out of the press, for Havre.
"I thought we got a big lift in the game from Breyon," Murphy said. "She came in and it was her turn. She led us in rebounds and gave us the spark that we needed. She played really well for us in that game."
Alyssa Matter opened the third quarter with a score off the dribble to bring the Ponies within one point of the Pirates. She finished with 18 points in the game.
Baltrusch led the Ponies in assists with four in the matchup, including finding Patera inside after an offensive rebound.
But it was all Blue Ponies in the fourth quarter, as the Pirates notched only two points, both from the free throw line, in the quarter.
Alyssa Matter had the only two Pony field goals in the quarter, while Shrauger notched her second 3-pointer of the game. The rest came from the foul line.
"On the offensive end for us, Tiffany hits the big three in the corner, and changes the complexity of how we want to play," Murphy said. "We hit the ball from the foul line down the stretch. It's the kind of game we like to play in."
In the final one minute of play, the Blue Ponies went 8-for-8 from the free throw line en route to the win. Shrauger went 6-for-6, while Baltrusch went 2-for-2 to sew up the victory.
Shrauger had a game-high 20 points in the contest, shooting 54 percent from the field, 50 percent from 3-point land, and 100 percent from the foul line. Baltrusch finished with three points, all from the free throw line, in the game.
The win advanced the Blue Ponies into the early game Saturday, where they were defeated 57-37 by the defending State Class A champion Cowgirls.
"We had a huge mountain to try to have to climb," Murphy said. "We had to play, in my opinion, the best team in the Class A. They had a lot of horses, and we would have had to play a near-perfect game to beat them, just like Lewistown played nearly a perfect game the night before."
The Cowgirls were handed their first loss in 41 games, a 55-44 rout, by the Central A Fergus County Golden Eagles in semifinal action Friday.
The Cowgirls held a 16-8 lead after one quarter. Patera, Shrauger and Alyssa Matter contributed to the Blue Pony points in the quarter.
The Ponies struggled offensively in the second quarter, scoring only five points in the quarter.
Sophomore Amy Ranes notched two points on an offensive rebound put-back, and Alyssa Matter scored three points in the quarter.
Down 22-13 heading into the third quarter, the Ponies were outscored 25-10 in the quarter.
Alyssa Matter scored six points in the quarter, including going 3-for-3 from the foul line.
Shrauger added a basket and Jeri Matter hit two free throws in the quarter, her only points of the game. Shrauger finished with eight points in the game.
Of the 13 fourth-quarter points, two were field goals scored by Shrauger and Alyssa Matter.
The Ponies went 9-for-10 from the foul line in the fourth quarter and shot 71 percent from the line in the game.
Alyssa Matter had a team-high 15 points in the game, shooting 55 percent from the floor.
Seven Blue Ponies, Sam Velk, Baltrusch, Briese, LaShae Michels, Patera, Jeri Matter, and Ranes, chipped in two points offensively in the game.
Miles City was led by Amber Griffith, who scored 21 points in the game. Sister Ashley added 13 in the win. The Cowgirls completed 16-of-22 free throws, shooting 72 percent in the game.
State A Girls Tournament
Havre
10
22
32
--
47
Polson
15
25
33
--
30
Havre -- Velk 0-1 0-0 0-0 0; Baltrusch 0-3 0-0 3-4; Briese 0-4 0-0 0-0 0; Michaels 0-0 0-0 0-0 0; Shrauger 6-11 2-4 6-6; Alyssa Matte 7-11 0-2 4-7 18; Patera 2-7 0-1 0-0 4; Jeri Matter 1-2 0-0 0-0 2; Ranes 0-0 0-0 0-0 0; McPherson 0-1 0-0 0-0 0; Totals: 10-22 32-47
Polson -- 2-6 1-4 0-0 5; Davis 0-2 0-0 0-0 0; Moss 1-1 0-0 2-2 4; Johnson 1-5 1-5 0-0 3; Fischer 3-5 0-0 1-2 7; Tait 1-4 1-4 0-0 3; O'Toole 0-0 0-0 0-0 0; Camel 2-6 1-2 0-0 5; Villegas 4-10 0-1 0-1 8; Nelson 0-0 0-0 0-0 0; Larson 0-0 0-0 0-0 0; Lozar 0-0 0-0 0-0 0; Totals: 15-25 33-35
Havre
8
13
24
--
37
Miles City
16
22
48
--
57
Havre -- Velk 0-0 0-0 2-2 2; Baltrusch 0-2 0-0 2-2 2; Briese 0-1 0-0 2-2 2; Michaels 0-2 0-0 2-2 2; Shrauger 4-9 0-2 0-0 8; Alyssa Matte 5-9 0-2 5-9 15; Patera 1-3 0-0 0-2 2; Jeri Matter 0-1 0-0 2-2 2; Ranes 1-2 0-0 0-0 2; McPherson 0-2 0-0 0-0 0; Totals: 8-13 24-37
Miles City -- 1-6 0-4 3-5 5; Frize 1-5 0-2 4-5 6; Dey 0-0 0-0 0-0 0; Weimer 2-7 2-6 0-2 6; Christiaens 1-2 0-0 0-1 2; Kincheloe 1-3 0-2 0-0 2; Austill 0-0 0-0 0-0 0; Amber Griffith 7-11 0-0 7-7 21; Ashley Griffith 4-9 3-7 2-2 13; Grundhuvd 0-0 0-0 0-0 0; Strobel 0-0 0-0 0-0 0; Lufborough 0-0 0-0 0-0 0; Bundy 1-1 0-0 0-0 2; Fry 0-1 0-0 0-0 0; Totals: 16-27 48-57
