THIS TEAM, THIS MOMENT, again

It has only been two weeks, but when the Havre High girls basketball team heads back down to Billings Thursday for the Class A state tournament, the Blue Ponies will feel a heavy sense of familiarity inside the First Interstate Bank Arena at the Metra.

The Class A defending state champions are going to be aiming for another state title and doing so will earn them a not-often achieved three-peat, as well. But Havre will have to get through some tough competition from their rivals in the Eastern A and the challenge of the Western A in Billings this week.

The Ponies (20-2) have had much success at the state tourney the last two years, but, that was Great Falls. Regardless, HHS head coach Dustin Kraske is excited to be back in the race for a chance at another state crown.

"It'll be fun," Kraske said. "We have to play well down there and we actually played pretty well down there for divisionals. We'll have to clean up the details of what we do, take care of the basketball, make free throws and rebound the ball. We're looking forward to going back down there. I think our kids are hungry and excited. They should be. There as good team as any. It should be a good experience."

The Ponies will take the court in the Metra as the No. 3 seed from the Eastern A. Compared to the previous two seasons, this has been the lowest seed Havre has been in the state tourney, but HHS has started as a lower seed before and went all the way to winning it all before.

And, at the end of the day, it is never smart to underestimate the Ponies. With senior standout Kyndall Keller tearing up the court, many defenses can struggle going up against Keller if left unchecked. Other seniors like Kadia Miller, Sam Oliver and Katie Wirtzberger help make up a good portion of the offensive drive, too. Meanwhile, senior Jessa Chvilicek has a great height advantage that has been beneficial on both sides of the ball.

Needless to say, Havre has a lot of senior leadership that has been key all season when it comes to execution. But the Ponies have more than that. Sophomore Sadie Filius and junior Loy Waid are threats on both sides of the ball, too. Filius' quickness makes steals come easy, while Waid is another tall player who can finish at the hoop.

But HHS will have to deal with a tough first-round opponent on Thursday in the Western A's No. 2 seed, the Hamilton Broncs. Hamilton gave the Ponies a first-round scare two seasons ago at the state tournament and there is no doubt the Broncs could do it, again. Kraske gives credit to Hamilton, who he sees as a great team to open the state title defense against Thursday.

"They're a guard-oriented team," Kraske said. "The stuff that we've watched on tape so far, they like to put pressure on you and get after you a little bit. They're probably similar to us other than I think we're a little bit older. They play a couple freshmen quite a bit, got some seniors coming off the bench and they have a nice team. Their new coach has done a nice job with them and it will be fun to match up with those guys."

Under head coach Richard Griffin, the Broncs carry five good senior players, too. Abby Johnson, Rylee Brackman, Olivia Walker, Mikayln Brickley and Emily Wildey all make up a great part of the team, while freshmen Taryn Searle and Layne Kearns complement the young and hungry style. As Kraske mentioned, Hamilton is a nice team that has a lot of similarities with Havre, as well.

At the end of the day, the Broncs will be the Ponies' first obstacle in the state tourney. If Havre makes it past Hamilton, they will have to face off against the winner of No. 1 Billings Central and No. 4 Dillon. If Central makes it through, that means another showdown between the Ponies and Rams. On the other side of the bracket sits the Hardin Bulldogs, the Eastern A's No. 2 seed, and also the runner-up to Havre in each of the last two state tournaments. Hardin opens against Browning Thursday night, followed by Western A champ Corvallis taking on Livingston.

There will be plenty of challenges awaiting Havre at the Metra, but Kraske sees one thing as the biggest difficulty at state.

"I think that you got to be ready to go," Kraske said. "I think that's a challenge for every high school kid. But we're looking forward to getting down there and playing our best basketball of the year. That might be the biggest challenge getting ready to play your best basketball of the year. We're close to that, I think."

With playing at their best on the brain, the Blue Ponies will kick off the last leg of the postseason against the Hamilton Broncs Thursday at noon. at the Metra. The semifinals of the state tourney are set for Friday night at 6:30 and 8 p.m., while the consolation game is at 5 p.m. Saturday, and the girls state championship game is at 8:30 p.m. Saturday night.