BIG BLUE REPEAT

Havre beats Hardin again, wins third Class A state championship in six years

GREAT FALLS - In order to win a state championship, you need to do all the little things right and Saturday night that's exactly what the Havre Blue Ponies did.

The result was a second consecutive Class A girls state championship, one which the Ponies earned following a 42-36 win over the Hardin Bulldogs inside the Four Seasons Arena in Great Falls in the second straight meeting between the two teams for the state title.

"I just can't believe it," Havre junior Kyndall Keller said afterward. "I love basketball and it's a crazy sport and this, this is just the best feeling ever."

The atmosphere inside the Four Seasons Arena was certainly crazy, as a large contingent of the crowd was hoping to cheer on Hardin to a state championship and the Bulldogs fed off that energy early on as they built a 6-2 lead after the first quarter of play.

"It was crazy out there," Havre senior Lauren Kato said. "Obviously, we had a lot of people cheering against us, but there were a lot of supporters for us there, too, and that was unreal."

Early in the second quarter, the momentum started to swing. The shift started when Havre's Katie Wirtzberger made a 3-pointer from the corner just 29 seconds into the stanza, cutting the Hardin lead to 6-5. Marie Five answered with a bucket for Hardin but after three Havre free throws tied the score, Wirtzberger hit another trey, giving the Ponies their first lead at 11-8 with 3:05 left before halftime.

"I just knew that my team needed it," Wirtzberger said. "It felt really good to see those go in."

Trailing for the first time after Wirtzberger's three helped spark a 6-0 run, Hardin responded by scoring six straight of its own as Kylee Old Elk converted a 3-point play and Ivery Fritzler hit a 3-pointer that proved to be the Bulldog's only make from beyond the arc all night.

Regardless, Hardin led 14-12 at that point, yet four points to close the half from freshman Sadie Filius sent the two teams into intermission tied at 16-16.

"I think our kids were a little nervous," HHS head coach Dustin Kraske said. "But I think that Hardin, their defense had a lot to do with it."

In the first half, Hardin was able to keep Keller in check, holding her to just one point. But with the score tied 18-18 early in the third, Keller banked in a deep three that helped her get going. It also gave Havre a three-point lead, one that had evaporated by the time she knocked down another trey from the corner to put the Ponies back in front 24-22.

"She banked in the one and then on the next scramble, I don't know who picked up the ball but she was in the corner for another," Kraske said. "Those were humungous and the hustle to get the shot was just as big."

Julianna Takes Horse, who scored nine points and grabbed 10 rebounds for Hardin, tied the score, but after a few Keller free throws, Filius and Keller each scored a bucket late to send Havre into the fourth quarter leading 32-27.

Another big shot for Havre came just 40 seconds into the fourth quarter, as Filius banked home a three from the top of the key. The shot pushed the lead to eight and proved to be the last field goal of the night for the Ponies.

"It's surreal," Filius said. "I almost can't believe it. I was just trying to have fun and treat it like any other game and my teammates kept giving me the ball and my coaches put me in a position to have that chance. It's unbelievable."

Down the stretch, and with an eight-point lead in their back pocket, the Ponies took the air out of the ball and clamped down defensively. After holding Hardin to 15 percent shooting in last year's state championship game, the Ponies limited the Bulldogs to 20 percent from the field in the second half (5-of-25) and also allowed just 1-of-15 makes from beyond the arc.

"It was a battle," Havre junior Kadia Miller said. "They wanted it bad. We wanted it bad. It was an intense game and, in the end, we got it.

"We had to be there for each other and trust each other," Kato added. "We played our hearts out and we left it all out on the floor. That's what we came here to do and we accomplished everything that we wanted to."

Despite Havre's dominant defensive effort, Hardin trimmed the lead to three with about five minutes left, before Keller made 5-of-6 free throws over the next few minutes to ice the win.

"It's pretty special," Keller said of her team's second straight championship. "It means everything. I can't even believe it. It really hasn't sunk in or hit me yet. It will. But right now it's just hard to believe."

When she was pulled with around 10 seconds left in the game, Keller finished with 17 points, including 16 in the second half. Filius stuffed the box score for the Ponies and finished with 13 points to go along with a team-high seven rebounds and three assists. Wirtzberger also finished with seven as she, Keller and Filius combined for 37 of Havre's 42 points.

"This feels amazing," Wirtzberger said. "I don't even know what to say. It's just the best feeling ever."

The state championship was the third overall for Havre under Kraske, who has directed the Ponies to all three championships inside the Four Seasons. Havre won in Great Falls last season, beating Hardin and also beat Hamilton on the same floor in 2014. The win also improved Havre's record to 46-1 over the past two seasons, with a 24-0 mark last year to go along with a final record of 23-1 for the 2018-19 season.

"Our kids are wonderful," Kraske said. "I am so happy for them. This year's team was very good and it complimented last year's team. This is just a product of all their hard work and their parents supporting us as coaches and the players allowing us to coach them."

TWO IN A ROW!

Havre 42, Hardin 36, 1st

Hardin 6 10 11 9 - 36

Havre 2 14 16 10 - 42

Hardin - Ivery Fritzler 3, Kylee Old Elk 3, Larae Wallace 6, Bergan Real Bird 2, Marie Five 13, Julianna Takes Horse 9. Totals: 12-49 11-17 36.

Havre - Sam Oliver 2, Kyndall Keller 17, Loy Waid 1, Kadia Miller 2, Sadie Filius 13, Katie Wirtzbeger 7. Totals: 10-40 17-28 42.

3-Pointers: (Keller 2, Wirtzberger 2, Filius 1, Fritzler 1). Fouls: Hardin 22, Havre 16.

Havre 52, Laurel 41, SF

Laurel 8 8 10 15 - 41

Havre - 10 12 14 16 - 52

Laurel - Mya Hansen 19, Maeson Cotter 9, Aspen Cotter 8, Gracey Willis 2, Morgan Maack 1, Kaitlyn Dawes 2. Totals: 12-37 13-21 41.

Havre - Sam Oliver 2, Kyndall Keller 19, Kylie Walker 3, Loy Waid 2, Kadia Miller 10, Jessa Chvilicek 3, Sadie Filius 6, Katie Wirtzberger 5, Lauren Kato 2. Totals: 14-31 20-33 52.

3-pointers: (Kyndall Keller 2, Katie Wirtzberger 1, Jessa Chvilicek 1, Mya Hansen 3, Aspen Cotter 1