Champion Ponies headed to Dickinson State

The 2017-18 season was a historic one for the Havre High girls basketball team, as the Blue Ponies went 24-0 and won the school's second state championship in the past five years. With all that in mind, it's not a surprise to see even more Havre basketball players getting scooped up to play college basketball.

All-State guard Marca Herron committed with the University of Providence back in 2017 and now two of her teammates will join her in signing NAIA national letters of intent as fellow All-State standout Danielle Wallace and All-Conference performer Kyley Verploegen each signed with Dickinson State last week.

"It's pretty exciting that I get to keep playing basketball," Wallace said. "After coaches started talking to me and seeing if I wanted to keep on playing, I realized that I was going to get a chance."

Wallace transferred to Havre as a sophomore and has been a starter ever since. This past season was her best for the Ponies, as she averaged 10 points per game, along with a team-high 7.1 rebounds. Her ability to score inside was key for Havre and the only player on the team to make a higher percentage of 2-point field goals was Verploegen, who made 54 percent compared to 51 percent for Wallace.

"Both Kyley and Danielle will add a competitive factor to our team and some much needed size," Dickinson State head coach Liz Lewis said in a press release last week announcing the moves. "They come from a high school program that is very well coached and has a history steeped in winning tradition. Kyley and Danielle know what it takes to win games, and we are extremely excited to see what they bring to the floor this season. Both players will be a great addition to the Blue Hawk family."

While Verploegen has also been a varsity contributor for the past three seasons, she has done her damage off the bench. However, she was essential on both ends of the floor for the Ponies. Her defensive prowess was noticeable and she ranked second on the team in defensive boards. She averaged 4.4 points per game, as well as five boards.

"We are incredibly excited to see Kyley in a Blue Hawk uniform," Lewis said of Verploegen."Kyley is very long and athletic. She is very tough defensively and is fundamentally sound. I believe she has an incredibly high ceiling, and her best basketball is still ahead of her."

Verploegen, who came off the bench for most of her career at Havre High, is excited about the chance to tap into her potential.

"I think I have a lot of room to grow," Verploegen said. "I need to get my ball handling better. I also need to get faster and stronger."

Verploegen also said getting to play college basketball made what was an incredible season, even more special.

"It definitely added on top of it," Verploegen said. "During the first couple of years of my career, I didn't really think about it. But in my junior and senior years, I really tried to take my game to the next level in order to play college basketball."

Playing college basketball will be a dream come true for both Wallace and Verploegen and the fact that they get to do it in the same program together makes the opportunity even more unique.

"It's going to be really nice to have someone that I know with me," Wallace said. "It will be fun to play together and nice to have a friend."

Verploegen also said that familiarity with Wallace would help make the transition to Dickinson State a little smoother.

"Having Danielle go makes it really exciting," Verploegen said. "We know each other and having someone to go through everything with will make it a lot easier."

Wallace and Verploegen are the fourth members of the Havre High basketball team to sign on for college athletics. Herron, Verploegen and Wallace are all playing basketball in addition to Kaylee Nystrom, who will run for the Montana State University-Northern cross country team next season.