Ponies play in Malta

Going as far back as anyone can remember, there has always been a rivalry between the basketball teams of Havre High School and Malta. And tonight, in Malta, both the boys and girls teams will renew it.

The Havre boys will take on Malta in the first of a doubleheader between the two schools at 6 p.m. The girls game between Havre and Malta will follow right after at 7:30 p.m.

Yet, there is going to be something different about this season's matchups, especially from a Malta perspective. Last season, the Malta boys won the Class B state championship. The girls, on the other hand, fell short of another title, but still finished as the Class B runner-up.

But this season, the Malta girls, who lost all five of their starters, including Sophia Stiles to the University of Montana, are in the middle of a rebuild. The M-Ettes started the season 0-3 under head coach Nate Hammond and have just a few players back from a season ago in Ella Schye, Kyleigh Schipman and Taylor Gilkerson. The fact that the M-Ettes are reloading, gives the Havre girls basketball its first chance to win in Malta in years. It has always been a tough place for the Blue Ponies to win, even during the successful run under current head coach Dustin Kraske, but with Havre looking as strong as ever in its 4-0 start, HHS enters the game as the heavy favorite.

"Playing down in Malta is always a challenge," HHS head coach Dustin Kraske said. "Malta doesn't have the team that they have had in the past, but we are just focused on playing our game and doing what we can to improve."

Yet, whether the Pony girls are playing Malta or someone from the ranks of Class AA, the fact that they have Kyndall Keller, one of the top girls basketball players in the state, will always give them a fighting chance. Keller is currently averaging 20 points a game for the Ponies, thanks in part to a season-high 26 points in a win over Livingston last Thursday.

However, Keller is far from the only scoring threat on the Ponies. Danielle Wallace, a senior post player, has also acquitted herself well early in the 2017-18 season. The senior is scoring just under 11 points per game and is also leading the team in rebounds. Other key contributors for Havre so far this season have been Marca Herron, Kaylee Nystrom, Ryen Olson and Kadia Miller.

"The one thing I really like about this team, it is just seems really balanced," Kraske said. "The kids really do a good job of playing together. We have some good players inside in Wallace and Kyley Verploegen, they are both working really hard and our guards are working really hard to get them the ball. And Kyndall, she has done a great job of being aggressive, but also getting others involved when the defense focuses a lot of attention on her."

While the Havre girls will see a much different version of Malta than it has seen in past seasons, the Malta boys are also going through a bit of a rebuild. Head coach David Costin, who led the Mustangs to a 22-5 record a season ago and a state title, has just one returning starter, Taylor Matthews from a season ago. Other key players for Malta will be Tel Jensen, Konner Kuehn, Landon VanWichen and Kevin Henry.

Matthews was an All-State selection for the Mustangs, so they do have that going for them, but after a 2-2 start, it's clear the Mustangs still have work to do. However, the Havre boys, who come into the game 1-3, are in the same boat.

Havre is coming off consecutive home losses to Livingston and Belgrade by double digits and are desperately in need of some momentum heading into the holiday break. Winning at Malta could provide that positive feeling, but to do that, the Ponies are going to have a find a way to score more than the 39 points per game they are averaging right now.

Ivar Aageson is the leading scorer for the Ponies right now with an average of 9.2 per game. Then Jacob Irvin and Tanner Parsons are both tied for second with an average of 7.8 points. But as a team, Havre is shooting just 34 percent from the field and just 23 percent from 3-point range, numbers that will have to improve, if Havre is going to notch a road win over Malta tonight.

"We just really have to cut back on our turnovers," HHS head coach Curt Leeds said. "I think that offensively, we are close, we just need to do a better job of playing together and taking better care of the ball. We just aren't getting enough good shots and we are giving away too many easy buckets. But I think we are right there, we just have to keep getting better, both as players and as a coaching staff."

The Havre boys will play Malta tonight at 6. That will be followed by a matchup between the Havre girls and Malta at 7:30. Both games will be played at the Malta High School gymnasium.