Hi-Line Athlete Profile: Yelena Miller, Havre High basketball

Over the past three years, Yelena Miller has been one of the best players on the Havre High girls basketball team that has won two straight Class A State Championships. However, Miller has faced her adversity this past season with the Blue Ponies.

Miller missed the early portion of the season as she dealt with an injury. While missing out on the first 13 games of the season was tough on her, Miller was able to get through it thanks to the help of her teammates.

"It was definitely a roadblock in my basketball career," Miller said. "But just going to practice, even though I was hurt and getting to watch the team and be around the players, even though I wasn't actually playing, helped me out."

But Miller was able to get back on the court at the end of January and the Ponies have appreciated her return to the court. Since her return, the Ponies have won eight games in a row. While the winning was great, Miller was proud of her recovery to get back on the court.

"It felt like I overcame an obstacle that was bothering me and it felt great to get back into basketball," Miller said.

This past weekend, the Ponies won the Eastern A Divisional in Billings with a 69-50 win over Hardin in the championship game. Over the past few years, the Ponies have had trouble bringing home the Eastern A title, so doing it in her senior year was sweet for Miller.

"It felt great," Miller said. "It was a great success that we wanted to get for our team because our class hadn't gotten it yet."

Back on the court, Miller has already gotten in rhythm for the Ponies. In her final five games of the regular season, Miller averaged 12.0 points and 7.8 rebounds. In the Ponies' three wins at the Eastern A Divisional, Miller averaged 11.33 points.

With their Eastern A Divisional title in hand, the Ponies have clinched a spot in the Class A State Tournament at Brick Breeden Fieldhouse in Bozeman next week. As the Ponies get set for the most important games of the year, Miller looks forward to competing against the best in the state once again.

"(I look forward to) just playing competitive teams, especially on the Western side," Miller said. "We want to see what the other side looks like out west and just continue to compete with some of the best teams in the Class A."

Miller and the HHS girls basketball team will begin the Class A State Tournament with a game against Browning on March 9 at 5 p.m. Before she and the Ponies head off to try to win their third straight state championship, Miller answered five questions for the Havre Daily News.

HDN: What is the hardest part about basketball?

Miller: "The hardest part is the mental aspect of it. Your mind has to be in it. You have to be focused and you have to physically be there and mentally be there in basketball."

HDN: What has it been like to be part of this successful program for the past few years?

Miller: "It's a great feeling to be a part of this team and the teams in the past years. Just how much we each have contributed to it and how focused we were on trying to be successful. How our coaches wanted us to be successful as well. Everyone was trying their hardest to do as much as they could to be successful."

HDN: Who would you attribute your success to?

Miller: "I would definitely attribute my success to Coach Dustin Kraske and all the past coaches such as Keller. My middle school coaches like Mr. Carlson and Kari Filius. And also my parents especially. They took me to camps and traveled with me and then my teammates pushed me to be the best that I can be."

HDN: What have you learned from your time in the program?

Miller: "I've learned that it takes a lot of time, effort and commitment to be a part of such a great program with great coaches and a great team. You definitely learn a lot from each other and from your teammates and how you react to things and how you overcome obstacles that are set in your way."

HDN: What do you enjoy doing in your free time?

Miller: "Just hanging out with my family. I live so far away that it takes a lot of time to drive so I just enjoy hanging out with my family. Bothering my brother, calling my sisters, pestering my parents."