By Jess Green
Coming off of two home wins against the Fort Benton Longhorns and the Glasgow Scotties, the Havre Blue Pony gals will need all of the momentum they can muster.
For the Blue Pony lady roundballers, this weekend begins Friday night with the Central A Division leading Lewistown Golden Eagles coming to town. Then, on Saturday night, the Class AA Great Falls High School Bison will be in Havre.
The Blue Ponies will need great performances from their team leaders as well as from the team as a whole.
Individual Blue Pony season leaders in the Central A rankings currently include Alyssa Matter, Jayla McPherson, Nikki Baltrusch, and Amy Ranes.
With 11 games under her belt this season, Alyssa Matter is in ninth place for Central A scoring with 131 total points, seventh place for steals with 34, and fifth place for 3-point percentage, sinking 12 of 35 attempts.
Jayla McPherson, also with 11 games played, is in sixth place in Central A rebounding with 73 total rebounds. Jayla's 53.8 percent field goals made places her in third place among Central A players for field goal percentage.
Nikki Baltrusch makes rankings appearances in the steals and free throw percentage categories with 31 steals and 64.3 percent free throw success, while Amy Ranes ranks sixth in field goal percentage making 30 of 62 attempts.
With the Great Falls High Bison being a AA school, and the Fergus/Lewistown Golden Eagles being the Central A leaders, a win in these games would greatly help the Blue Ponies seeding chances.
Currently, the Ponies are sitting on an 8-3 record with 31 seeding points. They are behind the Golden Eagle at 11-1 with 36 seeding points, Browning at 9-1 with 30 seeding points, and Dillon at 9-2 with 35 seeding points.
"It is a big weekend for seeding," coach Dennis Murphy said, "with these two wins we could go from fourth to up to first."
Coach Murphy added that in preparation for Friday's game his Blue Pony girls have placed a special importance on defending Golden Eagle player Katie Edwards. The Golden Eagles as a team average 59.3 points per game, while Edwards herself puts up nearly 29 points per game.
Tip off for the Friday night match-up will be at 7:30 in the Havre High gymnasium. Saturady nights tip off will occur at the same time.
