By Kim Staudinger
Playing their third game in three days, the Havre Blue Ponies (8-4) looked to complete an undefeated weekend of basketball, hosting the Glasgow Scotties on Saturday.
The third quarter, which is usually a weakness for the Ponies, turned out to be the big difference in the game. The Ponies outscored Glasgow 23-6 on the way to a 67-41 win in an interclass match-up.
Senior Heidi Wiedenheft scored all of Glagow's six points in the third quarter, four of which came on free throws. They were her only points in the game.
"We were making simple passes and were much more relaxed in the third quarter," head coach Dennis Murphy said. "We executed right off the bat.
"We were letting them hang around too long. We needed to get rid of them," he said.
Seniors Katie Malsam and Jeri Matter hit back-to-back three-pointers, giving the Ponies a 15-point lead with five minutes left in the third.
Moments later Amy Ranes got a steal and tossed a half-court pass to Julie Wagner for a wide-open lay-up. The only player even on the same half of the court as Wagner was her own teammate, Matter.
Alysia Kato followed suit 45 seconds later with a steal and another half-court pass to Wagner for the easy basket, increasing Havre's lead to 19.
"Our front guards, Julie and Katie Malsam, played real well tonight," Murphy said. "Julie passed the ball around well and had some nice easy shots. This is the best she's played all season."
For the second game in a row, all 10 Havre players scored, led by Jayla McPherson with 18, including 12 in the first quarter, Jeri Matter with 10, and Ranes and Wagner with eight.
Glasgow struggled early on with the Pony press, but Havre failed to capitalize, forcing quick shots and making petty fouls.
"We were trying to be aggressive," Murphy said. "But we were reaching at the ball and were out of position. We shot too quickly and didn't look for the open post players."
Despite the hurried shots, the Ponies shot 42 percent in the first half, taking a seven-point lead into the half.
"We knew going into halftime we would have to be more patient and let them make the mistakes," Murphy said. "We made some adjustments on the press, backed up a little and got some steals and passed ahead more."
The Scotties were led by Britney Archambeault with 13 points and Amber Garten with 10.
Glasgow
11
14
6
10 41
Havre
16
16
23
12 67
Glasgow Amber Garten 10, Heidi Wiedenheft 6, Margaret Bell 1, Sarah Schindler 9, April Molstad 2, Britney Archambeault 13.
Havre Katie Miller 4, Julie Wagner 8, Katie Malsam 5, Carrie Flatau 4, Sara Suek 3, Alysia Kato 6, Jeri Matter 10, Amy Ranes 8, Jayla McPherson 18, Renessa Briere 1.
