Havre girls advance to Class A State championship game

On Friday night at Brick Breeden Fieldhouse in Bozeman, the Havre High girl's basketball team continued its quest for a championship at the Class A State Tournament. In the semifinal game, the Blue Ponies faced a familiar opponent in the Billings Central Rams, who have given the Ponies trouble throughout the years.

But with a spot in the championship game on the line, the Ponies took care of business with a 70-49 victory over the Rams. After a competitive first quarter, the Ponies took control in the second quarter and never really looked back.

"We just played at our tempo," HHS senior Yelena Miller said. "We played our game and we didn't buy into their game."

Miller finished the game with 25 points for the Ponies. It was her second straight game in the state tournament where she recorded at least 25 points for the Ponies. Ariana Gary also had a strong performance with 17 points for Havre.

The first quarter saw the Ponies and Rams go back and forth to start the game. The Ponies started strong taking an 8-4 lead to start the contest. But the Rams got buckets from Coral Old Bull and Kamryn Reinker to tie the game halfway through the first.

Over the rest of the quarter, the Ponies and Rams exchanged buckets. Thanks to a pair of free throws from Gary late in the first, the Ponies were able to eke out a 16-14 lead heading to the second.

After the Ponies and Rams exchanged buckets to make it an 18-16 game early in the second, the Ponies took control with a 14-0 run to push their lead to 32-16. Many Ponies contributed during the run, including Gary and Kyanna Jarvis with five points each during this stretch. As the Ponies rolled on offense, HHS head coach Dustin Kraske believes their defensive effort spurred the run.

"Defensively, I thought we were a bit more disciplined in the second quarter and then we pushed the ball a little bit better," Kraske said. "Our kids did a great job. It was a total team effort."

Annika Stergar finally scored for the Rams to put an end to the run, but Havre responded with a bucket from Sierra Parker. After Reinker scored for the Rams, Miller knocked down a 3-pointer to give the Ponies a 37-20 lead. Reinker knocked down a free throw for the Rams, but the Ponies stayed in control with a 37-21 lead heading into halftime.

The Rams started the third with a three from Jessa Larson and a bucket from Lily Brand to cut the deficit to 37-26. But the Ponies did not let their lead get away from them. Halfway through the third, the Ponies looked good with a 43-30 lead.

The Ponies pushed their lead to 46-30 thanks to a bucket from Miller and a free throw from Parker. After back-to-back buckets from the Rams, Parker made a layup and one free throw to give Havre a 49-34 lead. Lily Bland knocked down a three for the Rams, but Havre responded with another bucket from Miller to take a 51-37 lead into the fourth.

The Rams started the fourth quarter by cutting Havre's lead to 53-42. But the Ponies responded with a 7-3 run to extend their lead to 60-45 halfway through the fourth. Amaya Jarvis got rolling with four points during this stretch.

The Rams tried their best to get back in the game, but the closest they could make it was 63-49 with just under three minutes remaining. The Ponies then ended the game on a 7-0 run to secure the victory.

With the win, the Ponies advanced to the championship on Saturday night where they will face Hardin. It will be a rematch of the Eastern A Divisional championship just a few weeks ago that the Ponies won 69-50. But with a state title on the line, the Hardin Bulldogs will fight hard against the Ponies.

"It'll be a dogfight. We'll need to be ready to go," Kraske said. "It's going to be a ton of fun. We've got a lot of respect for Hardin and how they play basketball so it's going to be a great game."

As the Ponies head into their final game of the season, they will be looking to continue playing well. The Ponies have been playing their best basketball as they have won 14 straight games and are winning by an average margin of 19.4 points a game. If the Ponies want to keep rolling and bring home another title, they believe they need to just stick to their identity.

"We just have to keep playing our game. Just keep pushing it and transitioning as fast as we can," Miller said. "And just having team effort. Congratulating each other, celebrating the little wins and then getting back on defense, keeping the players in front of us and playing good offense."

The HHS girl's basketball team will face Hardin in the Class A State championship game on Saturday at 6:30 p.m. at Brick Breeden Fieldhouse in Bozeman.

Havre 70, Billings Central 49

HAV - 16 21 14 19 - 70

BC - 14 7 16 12 - 49

HAV - Yelena Miller 25, Ariana Gary 17, Sierra Parker 12, Amaya Jarvis 8, Kyanna Jarvis 5, Lizzi Haney 3.

BC - Kamryn Reinker 15, Coral Old Bull 11, Lily Bland 9, Jessa Larson 6, Annika Stergar 4, Lauren Dull 2, Ruby Gray 2.