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Ponies wrap up regular season on the road

For the second year in a row, the Havre High girls basketball team has a chance to finish the regular season undefeated. But in order for that to happen, the Blue Ponies will first need to conquer Browning, again.

No matter what happens Thursday night in Browning, the Ponies have the top spot wrapped up in the Central A, yet to get a sweep of the Indians, HHS will have to win on the road. In fact, to get 18-0, the Ponies will need to win on the road twice, as they will head to Fairfield Saturday for the regular season finale.

“I think that we are really fired up about it,” HHS head coach Dustin Kraske said. “The kids are ready to go, they are ready for this game (Browning) and it’s going to be a lot of fun.”

In the first meeting, Havre and Browning battled it out in a defensive struggle before the Ponies eventually began to separate in the second half. When it was all said and done, the top-ranked Ponies won by double digits, 53-41. And of course, HHS got big efforts from two of its top players in Kyndall Keller and Kadia Miller. Keller, the two-time All-State performer, scored 18 points, while Miller, who is fresh off 21 points against Lewistown, managed 11.

While the offense, which leads Class A with an average of 63.6 points per game and boasts Keller, the leading scorer in the state (Class A) at 18.3 PPG, the real key to Havre’s success has been its play on the defensive end. Through 16 games, Havre ranks third in Class A in scoring defense (35.6 PPG) trailing only Columbia Falls (32.1 PPG) and Libby. However, the Ponies are the only team in Class A to average more than 60 points, while limiting opponents to fewer than 40.

Of course, Browning has always been known as a strong offensive team and that has continued for the Indians (14-2, 9-0) this season as they average 60.9 points, which trails only Havre. One of the reasons Browning has been such an effective team offensively has been its ability to knock down 3-point shots. The Indians are tied for second in the state with a 3-point shooting percentage of 29. Havre is close behind, shooting 28.

Individually, Tamika Guardpiee gives Browning an elite scorer just like Keller does for the Ponies. Guardipee, who is more of an inside presence, is scoring 14.9 points a game despite not making or attempting a 3-point shot this season. She also leads the state in field goal percentage, connecting on 58 percent of her shots this season. The other scoring threats for Browning are Dulci Skunkcap (8.4 PPG) and Walker Running Crane (7.0) PPG).

“Browning is a wonderful basketball team,” Kraske said. “They are well-coached and they present a lot of challenges, and we are looking forward to going there and trying to meet those challenges.”

One thing that should help the Ponies in that endeavor is their bench. Browning, like Havre is a very deep team. HHS get major contributions off the bench from Jessa Chvilicek (6.6 PPG), Sadie Filius (5.0 PPG), Lauren Kato (2.9 PPG) and Sam Oliver (2.6 PPG), among others.

For her part, Chvilicek is a force on both ends of the floor, leading Class A girls basketball in 3-point shooting at 44 percent. She has connected on 19-of-44 attempts, while also averaging nearly two steals and 2.5 rebounds per game. Filius is also shooting 35 percent from deep and averaging three rebounds, two assists and two steals so far during her freshman campaign.

After taking on Browning, the Ponies will take the day off Friday before traveling to Friday to battle the Eagles of the District 1B Saturday night at 5. The two teams met back in January and Havre cruised to a 62-37 victory, thanks to 20 points and 10 rebounds from Keller. She also made two 3-pointers and grabbed two steals.

“I would hope that we would start a little better this time,” Kraske said. “But (Dustin) Gordon will have that team prepared. They are a fundamentally sound thing and it’s going to be the same things. We need to take care of the basketball, rebound and sit down and play defense,”

Havre and Browning are set to play Thursday night at 7. The Ponies will then play Fairfield Saturday at 5 p.m.

 

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