Blue Pony girls host Conrad tonight

With all of the two-game weekends the Havre High girls and boys basketball teams have put in this season, this weekend should seem like a light one. But with both Central A Blue Pony squads playing in their second-to-last game of the regular season, there is a lot to be done. Tonight the Pony boys (4-5, 8-7) will take to the road where they will face the nonconference Conrad Cowboys. And playing at the Havre High gymnasium, tonight the HHS girls (5-4, 6-10) will host the Conrad Cowgirls for a nonconference matchup as well as senior night at 7. In their first meeting on the road, the HHS girls fell 45-44 in Conrad. The Ponies came out very flat, and just didn't have a great game overall. "It's not that we owe them one or anything," Havre High girls head coach Dustin Kraske said. "But I know that our kids understand that we need to play better against Conrad. "Senior night brings its own emotions," Kraske added. "And our seniors have to handle that as it will be their last time playing at Havre High. It will be an interesting night, it's always emotional and I would expect them to play well against Conrad." In the last nonconference meeting of the year, the Ponies are looking to maintain a level of consistency. They are looking to get better, and looking at this game as just another game before the tournament. It's a game with no pressure, having nothing to do with conference standings. "Conrad is a good team," Kraske said. "They are scrappy, they play hard and it will be good for us to play against them and not have the pressures of a conference night." With the added emotion of senior night, the Ponies would love to come away with a win tonight. But to do so, they have to defend the Cowgirls better than they did before. And on the other side of the ball, the Ponies just have to shoot better. The Cowgirls are expected to come out in a 2-3 zone defense. And with that being a favored defense by the opposition when facing the Ponies this season, HHS should be confident in their ability to handle it. If Cassi Darrah can continue her knack at finding the open shot, and Paighton Gilman and Hayley Donovan can continue to score down low the Ponies should be productive on offense. This year the seniors have played very well. And facing the Cowgirls, the stage is set for Donovan, Darrah and Cali Freier to go out on top. With nine years of combined varsity play between them, this year's seniors mean alot to the program. On the season Darrah has led the squad in scoring, averaging nearly 13 points per game, and in her last two outings Darrah accounted for 58 points. Donovan has led the way in rebounds with nine per game, and has also added nearly nine points per game. Freier does a little bit of everything. She averages over three points per game as well as five rebounds. Freier also leads the ponies with 30 assists and eight blocks on the season. "We will miss them," Kraske said. "Those three have meant an awful lot to me and the program, and we will sure miss them after they graduate. All three of them are level headed kids and are fairly strong I think. I am excited to see what they become because all three of them are going to be doing something pretty good very soon." The HHS boys hope to get a win tonight as well. In their first meeting with the Cowboys, the Ponies earned a 66-43 win at home. And with this being the Ponies only game of the weekend, HHS is hoping to play very well. "We shouldn't hold anything back," Havre High head boys coach Andy Smith said. "I am sure Conrad has improved, but I think as a team we have taken some steps in the right direction." Counting tonight, the Ponies are only two games away from the post season. And with this being their last non conference game, they really need to play well and with good consistency. C.J. Evans, Thane Gray, Anfernee Standing Rock, Logan Connor and Brandon Smith have played well all year, but have looked even more impressive the last few weeks. And for the Ponies to come away with another win over the Cowboys they all have to do their part. Evans, Connor and Smith have shot very well and need to do so again. Standing Rock and Gray give the Ponies a balanced game down low, and need to be productive for the Ponies to be successful. Overall, the Ponies aren't looking to do anything different tonight, or make any changes. They just need to play to their ability and wrap up any loose ends in preparation to the divisional tournament. "We really have to tighten some things up." Smith said. "We want to execute and really just want to do a good job. We need to play sound basketball at this point." Tonight the Pony boys (4-5, 8-7) will face the non conference Cowboys. And playing at the Havre High gymnasium, tonight the lady Ponies (5-4, 6-10) will host the Cowgirls at 7.