Blue Ponies dominate conference doubleheader

Over the weekend, the Havre High girls basketball team hosted Glendive and Sidney at Havre High Gymnasium. In a pair of conference games, the Blue Ponies played well as they defeated Glendive, 56-23, Friday night and then defeated Sidney, 73-33, Saturday afternoon. With a pair of dominant wins, HHS head coach Dustin Kraske was pleased with how the Ponies played.

"Our kids were very mentally prepared and focused and we were very good defensively," Kraske said. "I feel like we're starting to think about how that level of defense will make our team better."

The Ponies started the weekend with their win over Glendive. The game started with Mallory Robinson scoring to give Glendive the lead. After Amaya Jarvis scored to get Havre on the board, the Devils knocked down a 3-pointer to take the lead.

But over the rest of the first quarter, the Ponies took control. After Avery Carlson knocked down a free throw, Sierra Parker made a layup to tie the game. Lizzi Haney then knocked down a three to give Havre an 8-5 lead. A bucket from Molly Huse then made it 10-5 to end the first quarter.

The Ponies carried that momentum into the start of the second quarter. Parker started the quarter with a pair of buckets to push the lead to 14-5. After a Glendive free throw, the Ponies went on a 10-0 run to extend the lead to 24-6. Ariana Gary got rolling for the Ponies with six points during this stretch.

Over the next few minutes, the Ponies and Devils exchanged buckets. In the closing seconds of the half, Robinson knocked down a three for the Devils, but the Ponies had a 28-13 lead heading into halftime.

Coming out of the half, the Ponies stayed hot. Carlson started the half with a layup and one free throw and then a three. Jarvis and Parker also scored early in the third as the Ponies pushed their lead to 40-13 about halfway through the third. While the Ponies played well in the first half, Kraske believes they ratcheted up the defense in the second half.

"I thought in the second half, our kids sat in a better stance and were fundamentally good on the ball," Kraske said. "Ball pressure is a big deal and I thought they did a really nice job with that."

Over the rest of the third, the Ponies continued to play well to take a 46-21 lead into the fourth quarter. In the final frame, the Devils were unable to mount a comeback as the Ponies cruised to victory. Carlson led the Ponies with 17 points while Parker chipped in 11 points in the winning effort.

The Ponies continued to roll in their Saturday afternoon game at home against Sidney. In the first quarter, the Ponies started strong as they raced out to a 25-7 lead over the Eagles. Gary got going early for the Ponies as she recorded seven points in the opening quarter.

In the second quarter, the Ponies continued to roll over the Eagles as they stretched their lead to 49-17 by halftime. In the second half, the Ponies continued to cruise to increase their lead as they easily pulled away for the win.

Many Ponies had strong games to cap off the weekend. Jarvis led the team with 18 points. Carlson played well with 16 points and Gary recorded 14 points for the Ponies in the win.

With their two dominant wins over the weekend, the Ponies improved to 8-4 on the season and remained undefeated in the Northeast A with a conference record of 6-0. As they move forward into the last few weeks of the regular season, Kraske hopes his players can maintain the defensive intensity that they had over the weekend.

"When they play hard defensively, put pressure on the basketball, make the other team a little uncomfortable and then share the ball on the offensive side, it just gives your team confidence to continue to learn how to play together," Kraske said. "I think we'll take that from both these games."

The HHS girls basketball team will next play on the road against Malta this Tuesday at 7:30 p.m.

Havre 56, Glendive 23

GLE - 5 8 8 2 - 23

HAV - 10 18 18 10 - 56

GLE - Mallory Robinson 11, Mataya Tipton 6, Codi Nagle 4, Kadence Nissley 2.

HAV - Avery Carlson 17, Sierra Parker 11, Ariana Gary 9, Amaya Jarvis 6, Lizzi Haney 5, Tierra Parker 4, Kenzie Kallenberger 2, Molly Huse 2.

Havre 73, Sidney 33

SID - 7 10 6 10 - 33

HAV - 25 24 19 5 - 73

SID - Sophie Peters 8, Ella Norby 8, Leah Entz 6, Savanna Anderson 6, Ave Norby 4, Kendyl Wacha 1.

HAV - Amaya Jarvis 18, Avery Carlson 16, Ariana Gary 14, Tierra Parker 8, Sierra Parker 4, Lizzi Haney 4, Kyanna Jarvis 4, Danni Wirtzberger 3, Britton Elliot 2.