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Ponies collar Bulldogs

Havre advances to tonight's Class A state semifinals by turning away a tough Hardin squad in Hamilton

HAMILTON — The courtside announcer in the Hamilton High school gymnasium may not have been able to correctly pronounce Morgan Mazurkiewcz’s name at the start of the game — but by the end of it, she made sure he would never be able to forget it.

The reason Mazurkiewicz’s name won’t soon be forgotten by that announcer, or Havre basketball fans, was performances like the one she had Thursday night in Hamilton, as the senior made 19-of-21 free throws and helped shoot the Havre girls basketball team back into the state semifinals with a 64-54 win over Hardin in the opening round of the Class A state tournament.

“You just have to have confidence,” Mazurkiewicz said of her work at the free-throw-line. “And you just have to know you are going to make it every time, even if sometimes you miss.”

While Mazurkiewicz didn’t make every clutch free throw she took against the Bulldogs, it sure seemed like it. And In the first half, she was 7-of-7 from the line and scored 11 points. Dani Wagner also scored 11 first-half points for the Ponies, but still, Havre trailed 31-28 at the half and by as many as six early in the third quarter.

Yet, when they needed to, the Ponies did what you would expect a defending state champion to do, especially one coached by Dustin Kraske, they upped their game on defense, which in turn led to better production offensively. After a Wagner two and a 3-pointer by Naomi Terry, the Ponies trailed by just one. Then after the two teams exchanged baskets, Mazurkiewicz hit from downtown to give Havre its first lead in the third, and at the end of a 13-2 run, the Ponies led 41-36.

“I thought we came out with a lot better energy and enthusiasm on defense in the second half,” Kraske said. “I would like to think that over the course of the game, our pressure starts to wear on you, and I think that happened a little as the game wore on.”

Despite a better defensive effort in the third, Hardin still managed to inch its way back into the game at the charity stripe, and when the Bulldogs got two free throws from Chelsea Pretty Paint with 3:27 to go in the fourth quarter, the score was tied at 51-51.

At that point, the Ponies called a timeout to regroup. And whatever Kraske said in the huddle worked because the ensuing possession provided the key basket of the game as Wagner scored an old-fashioned three-point play to put Havre back up 54-51. The score broke the game’s 17th tie and also made sure it would never be tied again as the lead was one the Ponies never relinquished.

“We called the timeout to talk about things defensively,” Kraske said. “But we had Dani in the high post, she cut and came back to the ball and made a great play. She did a great job. She played what I thought was outstanding defense on (Darrelyn) Left Hand and still managed to score 22 points.”

After the Wagner basket, the Ponies allowed Hardin to score just once more and not again from the field in the final two minutes of the game. On the other end, HHS knocked down 10-of-14 free throw attempts to put the win on ice.

“Hardin is a good basketball team, kudos to them, they played a great game,” Kraske said. “Our kids really picked it up defensively in the second half, and I thought that was the difference in the game.”

Mazurkiewicz was huge in the win for the Ponies and posted a game-high 26 points. She also finished with four steals. Wagner was equally impressive with 22 points and eight rebounds. Terry made a key contribution as well for Havre with 13 points, including six important free throws in the final minute.

Left Hand led the way for Hardin with 23 points, while Evanna Wallace also contributed with 12 and Pretty Paint had eight.

With the win, the Ponies will take on the Hamilton Broncs, the top team from the Southwestern A in the semifinals tonight at 8. The game will be a rematch of last season’s state championship game won by the Ponies in Great Falls. Hamilton defeated Frenchtown Thursday to advance. Billings Central and Butte Central were also winners on the first day of the state tourney.

“I think Hamilton is a fantastic basketball team,” Kraske said. “We will have our hands full.”

The other semifinal will pit Billings Central up against Butte Central, which will also be in the Hamilton gymnasium tonight at 6:30. The winners of the semifinal games will meet Saturday night at 8 for the Class A state title.

Havre 64, Hardin 54

Havre 13 15 13 23 – 64

Hardin 13 18 10 13 – 54

Havre – Dani Wagner 22, Morgan Mazurkiewicz 26, Naomi Terry 13, Marca Herron 2, Lindsey Kudrna 1.

Hardin – Evanna Wallace 12, Jael Birdinground 2, Aubrey Meiwald 2. Darrelyn Left Hand 23, Shakoya Fredericks 7, Chelsea Pretty Paint 8.

3-pointers: Havre 3-13 (Mazurkiewicz, Terry, Wagner); Hardin 2-11 (Left Hand, Fredericks). Fouls: Hardin 26, Havre 18. Fouled out – Birdinground, Left Hand.

 

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