Hi-Line Thrillers: Ponies hold off Broncs

GREAT FALLS - The Havre High girls basketball went into the Class A state tournament with a 21-0 record, but getting win number 22 over Hamilton, the Blue Ponies first-round opponent, was anything but easy or routine.

In a rematch of the 2014 state championship game, Havre and Hamilton went head-to-head Thursday in Great Falls at the Four Seasons Arena and thanks to a strange ending, the Ponies won 43-39 to advance to the Class A semifinals tonight against Browning.

After a defensive slugfest, the last 60 seconds between Havre and Hamilton produced some fireworks. First, Tessa Della Silva knocked down a 3-pointer to tie the game at 39-39. Then with just eight seconds remaining, Danielle Wallace drew a foul and made a free throw to put the Ponies in front 40-39.

On the other end of the floor, with 4.5 seconds left, Hamilton took a timeout, its final one of the game, to draw up a final play to try and win the game. However, the Broncs never got off the game-winning shot attempt, as head coach Mark Albert inexplicably called a timeout he didn't have, resulting in a technical foul. Kyndall Keller made two free throws, followed by another free throw make by Wallace, which cemented a four-point win for the Ponies.

"I have never been in a situation like that," HHS head coach Dustin Kraske said. "I have seen it before, but no. I feel bad for Mark. He's a good coach, he has a good program and great kids. They had a good game plan today and that's a bummer."

Hamilton's loss was Havre's gain. But the Broncs didn't lose the game. At the end, the Ponies found a way to win it.

From the start, nothing came easy. Hamilton grabbed an early 3-0 lead, but a hoop by Kaylee Nystrom, followed by 3-pointers from Marca Herron and Kyndall Keller allowed Havre to build a 14-7 lead. Kyley Verploegen also added six points in the first quarter, as HHS led 18-13 after the first eight minutes.

"We did a lot of preparation and that got me ready," Verploegen said. "We came out and did a good job of playing as a team."

In the second quarter, however, the Ponies went into an offensive slump, both teams did. In the entire stanza, there was just two baskets made and both were from Hamilton, as the Broncs outscored Havre 5-0 to tie the game at half, 18-18.

"We got a little impatient there in the second quarter," Kraske said. "We had a lot of one pass and shoot possessions. We still were able to get some good looks, we just couldn't make them."

At the outset of the third quarter, Hamilton continued its run as Mallory McGill knocked down a triple, then scored again to put the Broncs ahead 23-19. Facing its biggest deficit of the game, Havre turned to sophomore Kadia Miller, who buried a 3-pointer to get HHS within one. Then, she scored inside to make it 24-23 Ponies.

"I just knew that our team was down a little bit," Miller said. "And that we needed something to get us back into it."

After Miller put Havre up by one, Hamilton answered with a three to go back up two, before a make from deep by freshman Kylie Walker and a hoop from Wallace gave the Ponies a 29-26 lead heading into the fourth quarter.

Herron opened the scoring in the fourth, getting a bucket and a foul to put Havre up five. But, two buckets from the Broncs got Hamilton back within one, before back-to-back buckets by Keller made it 35-30 Havre with 4:14 to play. With the score 35-34 and 51 seconds to go, Verploegen hit two clutch free throws to keep the advantage at three points, but that's when Della Silva hit from deep to the tie the game with around 10 seconds remaining.

"That was a nice shot," Kraske said. "We were playing off her a little bit and lost track of her, which was unfortunate, but you still have to make the shot and you have to give her credit for that."

Despite Della Silva's dagger, Havre wasted no time getting the ball down the floor. Eventually, Wallace got the ball inside and was fouled. She made the first three throw to give Havre a lead it would not relinquish.

"That wasn't really coaching," Kraske said. "Our kids just kept their composure and knew what to do in that situation. Our kids stuck together, we executed down the stretch; got some stops and made some free throws. That was the difference."

For the game, Havre shot just 35 percent from the field, compared to 51 percent for Hamilton. The big difference came at the free throw line, where Havre was 13-of-20. The Broncs were just 4-of-8. The Ponies also had a slight edge in 3-pointers, with four makes compared to three. Both schools finished with nine turnovers.

Individually, Keller led all scorers in the game with 14 points on 4-of-10 shooting. She also had two rebounds and two assists. Verploegen was big off the bench for Havre with eight points and four rebounds. Miller also contributed with seven points and three boards. She scored all seven of her points in the second half. Lauren Ryter led Hamilton with 12 points, Cariann Kunkel finished with nine.

"Like she has all year long, Kadia did a great job for us defensively," Kraske said. "But she made that big 3-pointer and then Walker made one. That was the turning point for us in that third quarter."

The win put Havre into the Class A state semifinals for the fourth time in five years. Yet, the Ponies haven't advanced past that round since 2014, the last time they won the state championship. To do that, HHS will need to get past Browning tonight inside the Four Seasons Arena. Tip-off time is set for 6:30.

"We gotta prep up and coach em' up," Kraske said. "We have to get the kids ready to play."

Havre 43, Hamilton 39

Hamilton 13 5 8 13 - 39

Havre 18 0 11 14 - 43

Hamilton - Tessa Della Silve 7, Tristan Searle 1, Kara Nye 5, Mallory McGill 5, Cariann Kunkel 9, Lauren Ryter 12. Totals: 16-31 4-8 39.

Havre - Kyndall Keller 14, Kylie Walker 3, Kaylee Nystrom 2, Kadia Miller 7, Marca Herron 5, Danielle Wallace 4, Kyley Verploegen 8. Totals: 13-37 13-20 43.

3-Pointers: K. Walker, K. Keller, M. Herron, K. Miller, T. Della Silva 2, M. McGill, K. Nye. Fouls: Hamilton 14, Havre 8. Fouled out -- none.