A pair of HHS seniors say goodbye

Havre High senior Jaclyn Evans has been a huge part of the Blue Pony girls basketball program since her sophomore year.

Senior night came a little early for the Havre High girls basketball team, as it was their last game at the Havre High gymnasium, but the Central A Blue Pony seniors still have one game left to be played in Havre.

Havre Central technically isn't the Ponies'

Havre High senior Sammy Evans will play for the final time in Havre when the Blue Ponies take on Browning Saturday at the Havre Central Gym.

home gymnasium, but nonetheless, the home crowd will still be in full force. And for seniors Jaclyn Evans and Sammy Evans, playing one last time in Havre as a Blue Pony, and hopefully grabbing a win while doing so, is important. The two seniors will play their last home game Saturday night at 5 p.m. at Havre Central against the conference rival Browning Indians.

"I am pleased with both of them," Havre High head coach Dustin Kraske said. "They have done a nice job. We have had a good year and the next couple of weeks I think we will continue to get better and improve. I am excited for our kids and I am excited for our seniors because they get more opportunities to play basketball. Divisionals will be fun and if we continue to play how we play, an opportunity to get to state would be a tribute to them helping get us there."

Both Evans' girls have had successful careers, and getting to play deep into the postseason would be a great reward. Jaclyn Evans has been a key component to the varsity squad since her sophomore year, while Sammy came on really strong the second half of last season and didn't skip a beat this year.

A year ago Jaclyn also received All-Conference honorable mention with her excellent guard play. This year she was moved to more of an inside post position, and has continued to excel. This season Jaclyn is averaging just under six points and over three rebounds per game. She has also racked up 23 assists and 20 steals this season.

"She has bought into (the change)," Kraske said. "I know there times where I know she would like her role to be more than what it is, but I know she has really developed and bought into the idea of what it takes to play well as a team. Her leadership off the court has been awesome especially, not that on the court it hasn't, but she has been a pick me up for our kids. Last weekend in Conrad we didn't play well, but she kept us upbeat."

Sammy hasn't been a part of varsity quite as long, but she too is helping lead the way.

On the season, Sammy has averaged over six points per game and over four boards per game. She proved to be a varsity asset last season, and has proven herself once again this season with great hustle and hard work.

"Sammy has been a great leader for us," Kraske said. "She works hard and plays as hard as she can. We understand that basketball is probably number three on her list of sports, but she doesn't treat it as that during the season and that is appreciated."

Both seniors were grateful to get the 55-33 win over Shelby in their last game at Havre High, but they aren't done yet.

"It was good to get (that) win," Jaclyn Evans said. "But we still have a lot to work on before we get to divisionals. We are still taking it one step at a time. First we want to win our league, then we want to win divisionals, and then make it to state, that is the ultimate goal right now."

Jaclyn and Sammy Evans will play their final game in Havre Saturday night against Browning at the Havre Central Gym.