Northeast A quest begins for Pony girls

A lot that can be said about rivalry games in the sports world. The competition is intense, the teams are hungry and the atmosphere is littered with passion and talent across the board. But what happens when new conference opponents pop up on the schedule?

For the Havre High girls basketball team, tonight and Saturday will be a dose of some different conference competition than before.

With the realignment of the conferences across Class A, the Blue Ponies will be up against new Northeast A rivals, the Glendive Lady Devils and the Miles City Cowgirls.

Havre will get a fresh taste of the updated conference today against Glendive on the road at 5:30, followed by a Saturday roadgame down in Miles City at 2:30 p.m.

Those are just two of the three new teams the Ponies will play twice a year and the two games over the weekend is the start of a new age.

As Havre heads into the games against the Devils and the Cowgirls, the team has played a fair share of tough competition already. Last Saturday, the Ponies fell in a non-conference road-game to Billings Central, a fearsome team that will look to make a state berth again this season. Before that game, Havre won its home and season opener against Laurel. As of now, the Blue Ponies are 1-1.

HHS will look to give it their all and set the tone early against the change in conference opponents. With players like senior Kendall Keller, who has put up 50 points already in the first two games of the year. Meanwhile, fellow senior Kadia Miller has been impressive early on, too, especially when she racked up 16 points against the Locomotives in the opener.

Other notable performances early on have been from senior Katie Wirtzberger and teammate Loy Waid, who have proved to be key assets in moving the ball and making great shots. There's no shortage of talent on the Havre squad, which also boasts All-State sophomore Sadie Filius, among others.

But when it comes to opponents Glendive and Miles City, Havre will have to keep two very hungry teams in check. As of now, both the Devils and the Cowgirls have yet to secure a win early in the season, with Glendive falling to Columbia Falls and Polson, while Miles City has lost to Hardin, St. Labre and conference rivals Lewistown and Sidney.

Glendive started off its season much like Havre, with two non-conference opponents. The tough losses to the Wildcats and the Pirates have set them back, but there is still much to be said about the team. But one name pops up in particular, Karsen Murphy.

Murphy is among the best three-sport standouts in Montana and when it comes to basketball, has held the honor of being an all-state athlete. Then comes the fact that Murphy plans to be a part of the University of Montana women's basketball program, as well, where she'll be a teammate of Keller. With that in mind, it is clear that Murphy is no doubt going to be a tough opponent to go up against on the court.

For Saturday's road-game against Miles City, the Blue Ponies will be facing a squad looking to make up for falling behind early on. The Cowgirls have had their good heap of tough teams already. It has not been easy for Miles City, especially when the team took a big loss from St. Labre.

It will be a redemption game for the Cowgirls. After all, if they can take down the defending state champs, it will have a big impact on how the squad moves forward in the season, not to mention the morale boost.

Havre has a lot on its plate today and Saturday against the new rivals of the Northeast A, where wins are big to stay on top. The matchups will not be much easier for the Ponies on the road, but the team has a lot of skill and leadership that can take them to the top of the conference early on.

The Blue Ponies' (1-1) first game against Glendive (0-2) starts today at 5:30 in Glendive, followed by the matchup down in Miles City (0-4) against the Cowgirls at 2:30 p.m. Saturday. Havre will then be off until Jan. 2.