By Tiffany L. Rehbein
The Havre Blue Ponies girls basketball team travels to Lewistown Friday to open its 1999 season.
The Ponies will meet the Beaverhead County Beavers in Central A conference action Friday at 8 p.m., at the Fergus County High School gymnasium.
Preseason polls show Dillon to be the Class A team to beat.
Last season, the Beavers followed the Blue Ponies into the state tournament and finished in fourth place.
Theyll be tough, head coach Dennis Murphy said. They returned an All-State point guard.
Lynsey Monaco, 5-9 junior, is that guard who averaged 13 points, five steals and three assists last season as a sophomore.
The Blue Ponies are riding on a streak of winning the conference title for two consecutive years.
Id like to make it three, Murphy said.
Seniors Erin Patera and Tiffany Shrauger look to be court leaders with junior Alyssa Matter stepping into a varsity role.
Patera averaged seven points and five rebounds per game last season.
Matter chipped in an average four points and three rebounds per game.
Alyssa is getting more aggressive offensively and thats nice to see, Murphy said.
Nikki Baltrusch, Jayla McPherson and Amy Ranes also look to play tough at Lewistown.
After playing the late game Friday, the Ponies turn around and open play at 2 p.m. Saturday against the Anaconda Copperheads in Central A conference play.
The Ponies will also have the opportunity to see the Belgrade Panthers and Park County Rangers, two conference teams the Ponies do not meet during the regular season, at the tip-off tourney.
