Pony girls corral the Bison; HHS boys fall

The Havre High girls basketball team didn't have a great shooting night against Great Falls High. But in the end, the Blue Ponies didn't need to shoot the ball well because what they were able to do defensively was more than enough to win.

"Yeah, it was weird," HHS head coach Dustin Kraske said. "We had a lot of good shots; we just couldn't get them to go in."

If they had, Havre probably would have won handily. Instead, the Ponies had to rely on defense to beat the Class AA Bison, and after allowing just four points and no field goals to the Bison in the fourth quarter, HHS earned a 47-39 win, Friday night in the HHS gymnasium.

"At halftime, we talked before the coaches came in," Kaylee Nystrom said, "and us seniors spoke up, and I think that really helped."

Whether it was the halftime speech or something else, the Ponies certainly defended better in the second half. Great Falls High scored 28 points in the first half and the game was tied at intermission. But in the second half, the Bison scored just 11. The Ponies only managed 18, but it was enough to get to 6-0 on the season. Havre won't play again until Jan. 5 in Fairfield.

"It feels really nice actually," Nystrom said of being 6-0. "I wasn't surprised, I knew that we could do it, but it still feels good."

Nystrom, and her relentless effort on defense, was a big reason why the Ponies won. The senior finished the game with 10 points, but seven of them, came off steals near her own basket. Those seven points always seemed to come at important moments in the game, like the final steal and score that put Havre up 41-37 with 6:05 left to play.

"I don't know. I think I just get really mad," Nystrom said of her ability to steal the ball. "I just try to be the workhorse for the team, that's my job. I just try to get in their (offensive players) face."

After Nystrom gave Havre a four-point lead, Kyndall Keller pushed it to seven with a 3-pointer with around four minutes left. From there, the Ponies iced the game on defense, allowing just two free throws in the last six minutes of the game.

"We kind of talked at halftime that we didn't have the energy defensively that we need to have," Kraske said. "And obviously, our kids responded and did a good job. They were kind of pumping themselves up before I even came in. They were working to address that themselves and I appreciated that."

While Nystrom had 10 points and five steals, Keller led all scorers in the game with 20. Thirteen of those came in the first half before she got into foul trouble, but her 3-pointer late proved to be a dagger. Danielle Wallace also pitched in with 11. Erin Hocker led the Bison with 10, while Erin Watt wound up with seven.

"All our kids played really hard defensively," Kraske said. "I thought Kadia Miller, I am not sure if she is scoring or making a bucket, but that's not her role and she did a nice job. Ryen Olson came in and did a nice job. Kyley Verploegen came in and battled her rear end off. That was nice to see. Kylie Walker struggled and then had a really good second half, and I thought that youngster is doing a really good job."

Not only did Havre get the win because of its stellar defense in the second half, the Ponies also held their opponent to less than 40 points for the sixth straight time this season.

"We are really pleased, Great Falls High has a really nice team and it was good to get them," Kraske said. "I think us being 2-0 in the league is the most important thing, and I think we have a lot of learning ahead of us and that's going to be really fun."

The girls team hosted Great Falls High Friday, but the Havre boys basketball team played the Bison on the road the same day. In that game, the result was much different as the Bison easily defeated Havre by a score of 65-41.

The Ponies kept it close early, trailing just 11-6 at the end of the first quarter. But a 19-point second quarter by Great Falls High made it 30-18 at halftime. The lead was 16 going into the fourth quarter, and HHS didn't really get any closer.

Blake Thelen scored 15 points to lead the Bison to victory. Hunter McKinney added 12 and Kyle Torgerson finished with 11. Trey Murphy led the Ponies with 15 points. Tanner Parsons had six and Ivar Aageson ended up with five.

The Havre boys (2-4) will play next on the road Jan. 5 against Fairfield.

Havre Girls 47, Great Falls 39

Great Falls 12 16 7 4 - 39

Havre 14 14 9 10 - 47

Great Falls: Erin Hocker 10, Morgan Johnson 1, Katie Nicholson 7, Annie Toon 2, Jorgie Hawthorne 3, Gracie Lins 3, Morgan Sunchild 6, Erin Watt 7.

Havre: Kyndall Keller 20, Kaylee Nystrom 10, Kadia Miller 3, Marca Herron 3, Danielle Wallace 11.

Great Falls 65, Havre Boys 41

Havre 6 12 10 13 - 41

Great Falls 11 19 14 21 - 65

Havre: Tanner Parsons 6, Thomas Brown 3, Ivar Aageson 5, Austin DeLaRosa 3, Tysen Sangrey 3, Trey Murphy 15, Austin Jones 4, Kellen Detrick 2.

Great Falls: Hunter McKinney 12, Kendall Kynett 4, Riley Callery 6, Blake Thelen 15, Kyle Torgerson 11, Cash Abbott 9, Teagan Olson 2, Kevin Boes 2, Keegan Bistodeau 4.