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2014 CLASS A
March 2014
STATE GIRLS BASKETBALL CHAMPS
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Blue Pony girls rock Rangers, Panthers Bue Ponies travel to Livingston, Belgrade Daniel Horton
Havre Daily News sports writer gferguson@havredailynews.com Somehow, the Havre High girls basketball team continues to outdo itself. This past weekend was no exception as the Central A Blue Ponies dominated their two conference games. The Ponies spent two days on the road and returned home with two more conference wins, and are now 6-0 and still in first place in the league standings. Friday night, the Ponies dominated Livingston 58-16 in Livingston, and Saturday, the Ponies kept rolling with a dominating win over Belgrade, 66-33. Overall, it was a great weekend for the Ponies as they continue to push for another conference title and state berth, “Our kids have played so well lately,” Havre High head coach Dustin Kraske said, “so it was nice to see them continue to play well. We talked during the week about continuing to play how we play, not concerning ourselves too much with the score, just go out and play to the high expectations that we have for ourselves. Our kids did a nice job of that.” Giving up just 16 points in a varsity basketball game was an impressive showing by the
HHS defense in Livingston. The Ponies' up-tempo style and constant pressure gave up just two points in both the first and third quarters, respectively. Livingston also scored just six in the second and fourth quarters as the Ponies proved to be too tough all around for the Rangers. On the flip side, Havre’s offense scored at least 16 in all but the fourth quarter. The Ponies were paced by Brandy Lambourne’s 20 points and Morgan Mazurkiewicz’s 12. Havre’s offensive production continued Saturday when Lambourne led the way with another 25 points. Morgan Mazurkiewicz kicked in 10 and Dani Wagner finished with eight. It was good to see that the Ponies played well through eight straight quarters, finding ways to score points while the defense continued to slam the door in the face of opposition. Belgrade’s 33 points was nowhere near good enough to keep pace. “Our kids were in the passing lanes, they communicated very well, and rotated very well on defense,” Kraske said. “It was just a great effort all the way around and on both ends of the floor. The scores were lopsided, but we still got after each other to play well. We didn’t expect anybody to let up because of the scores. At halftime we talked about wanting our defense to be better, and we came out and gave up four points in the third quarter against Belgrade. It was good that our girls made the decision to play how we play, and not lessen our enthusiasm because of the
score.” Havre’s unselfish play has propelled the Ponies into an already successful regular season. And with two conference games left, the Ponies have put themselves into a great position to finish in first place heading into the postseason. With one more conference win the Ponies will clinch the No. 1 seed in the Central A tournament next month. Thursday, the Ponies will be back in action when they host Great Falls High. And Saturday, the Ponies will face CMR in Great Falls.
Havre 18 16 18 6 – 58 Livingston 2 6 2 6 – 16
Havre Daily News sports writer gferguson@havredailynews.com
Livingston – Megan Schoenen 4, Hailey Peterson 2, Meadow Ingram 4, Chelsea Woods 4, Mariel Kelley 2. Havre 66, Belgrade 33 Havre 16 19 18 13 – 66 Belgrade 9 12 4 8 – 33
Havre Daily News/Daniel Horton Blue Pony senior Lacey Waid launches a shot during a game at the HHS gymnasium. Shaylee Ragar 2, Jamie Woolman 1.
STATE GIRLS BASKETBALL CHAMPS
www.havredailynews.com
Now it's their turn Veteran Havre High girls ready for a run at state Daniel Horton
Havre – Breck Don 2, Brandy Lambourne 20, Dani Wagner 2, Morgan Mazurkiewicz 12, Lacey Waid 5, Peyton Filius 7, Tori Mazurkieiwcz 3, Haley Ohm 5.
Belgrade – Kindall Bethke 2, Sadie Reddick 1, Alexis Clingingsmith 7, Madison Page 2, Erin Singleton 6, Tanna Holliday 12,
March 2014
Blue Ponies face Frenchtown Thursday at 8 p.m. in Class A opener
Havre 58, Livingston 16
Havre – Brandy Lambourne 25, Dani Wagner 8, Morgan Mazurkiewicz 10, Lacey Waid 7, Peyton Filius 7, Tori Mazurkiewicz 7, Haley Ohm 2.
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2014 CLASS A
Heading into its third straight Class A state tournament, the Havre High girls basketball team is sitting in pretty good position to make an exciting run at a Class A state championship. Two weeks ago the Blue Ponies followed a regular season title with a divisional title in Belgrade. The Central A title was also the third straight for head coach Dustin Kraske and his Ponies. And if the trend of winning continues, the Ponies are also looking to return to Havre with a state title. Havre last won a state title in 1997, a 62-43 win over Dillon. Thursday through Saturday, the Class A state tournament will take place at the Four
Seasons Arena in Great Falls. The Ponies (14-6) take on Frenchtown, the No. 2 team out of the Northwest, Thursday at 8 p.m. “I think all of the games are going to be good,” coach Kraske said. “And I don’t think any team can ever sneak into state, you have to earn it. But I think we are a good team in our own right and I expect our girls to play well. It will be a fun and exciting tournament. All eight kids that we play need to play well. The teams that have a couple players out there that you don’t have to guard, they turned in their gear already. The eight teams here are good, so we have to be ready to go.” A year ago the Ponies went into the state tournament as a No. 1 seed and went 1-2. HHS defeated Stevensville 40-36, but suffered a tough 46-35 loss to Laurel in the semifinals. Laurel went on to win the state title. The Ponies also lost out to Butte Central 51-37. But this year the Ponies parlay the experience they have earned the last three years at state into what could be another strong showing. HHS has five seniors on the roster, and Peyton Filius, Brandy Lambourne and Lacey Waid have competed at the state tournament
since their sophomore season. But throw in junior Morgan Mazurkiewicz who played as a freshman, and the Ponies have four girls with a lot of state experience to help lead the way this weekend in Great Falls. “We have the experience we need to play well,” Kraske said. “Peyton, Brandy and Lacey have been on varsity all four years and are going to their third state tournament. But so is Morgan, and we are happy with where our team is at right now. They are all practicing very well, they had a fantastic season and we are looking forward to going down there and watching this team play. We have been there before, so let’s go lace ’em up and go play ball.” Both Filius and Lambourne lead the Ponies in scoring with almost 13 points per game each. Morgan Mazurkiewicz adds another 11 per game, while Waid adds more than four points and four rebounds per game as well. Filius, Lambourne and Morgan Mazurkiewicz are also shooting at least 30 percent from behind the 3-point arc. But the Ponies’ title hopes also depend on how well they can play, not just their experience. With the upperclassmen leadership, the
Ponies also have a lot of talented players to go along with Filius, Lambourne, Waid and Morgan Mazurkiewicz. Tori Mazuriewciz is another talented guard who can give the Ponies points and solid defensive stretches. Breck Don also gets leaned on for her defensive efforts, while post players like Haley Ohm can hold down the paint with her size and length. Ohm is averaging over four points per game, and while she doesn’t shoot a lot, she is averaging 51 percent from two-point field goal range. Dani Wagner is another role player that has gained more and more minutes over the season and could prove to be difference-maker as well. And Frenchtown will test the Ponies in the first round. Vanessa Stavish is undoubtedly the leader of the Broncs and her offensive production will come from all over the floor. Stavish is an MSU-Billings prospect and will attempt to take down the Ponies with her inside game and ability to knock down 3-pointers. But Kayla Blood, a point guard, and Haley Cyr, a shooting guard, also add to the Broncs’
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