The Powell High School girls’ basketball team closed out its regular season over the weekend with a 1-1 split, losing a nail-biter at home to Cody, but rebounding Friday with a win at Lovell.

The Lovell win put the Lady Panthers (13-7 overall, 4-2 in conference play) in a three-way tie for first place atop the 3A Northwest Quadrant. The log jam came down to a coin flip to determine postseason seeding, and the flip didn’t go Powell’s way.

PHS wound up with the third seed — meaning the Lady Panthers must face Lyman at 9 a.m. Thursday at the regional tournament in Worland.

“We’ll have our hands full,” said PHS head coach Scott McKenzie.

Lyman enters the tournament as the top team from the 3A Southwest Quadrant, sporting a 17-5 overall record.

“Calling Lyman a solid team is being kind,” McKenzie said. “You have to win two before you lose two to get to state — that’s the magic recipe. But I think we’re ready to go.”

Cody 28, Lady Panthers 26

Powell gave the 4A Cody Fillies (11-8 overall) all they could handle at Panther Gym Thursday night. The state’s No. 2-ranked defense held Paige Powell, the second-leading scorer in 4A and a University Wyoming recruit, to just 11 points.

But Paige’s teammates hit just enough shots to ward off a late Lady Panthers rally, earning the season sweep with a 28-26 win.

“If you like defense, that was the game to be at,” McKenzie said. “We wanted to win for the girls on Senior Night; we just fell a little bit short. Paige Powell just really made a difference inside for Cody; you couldn’t get close to the rim at all.”

Baskets were at a premium for both teams in the first half. The Fillies held a 16-10 lead at the half, with the Lady Panthers going 4-of-22 from the floor in the first two quarters.

PHS kept it close in the third, cutting the lead to 25-20 as the game entered the final frame. The Lady Panthers’ defense stepped up hard in the fourth, holding Cody to just three points, while PHS countered with six. With just 16 seconds to play and the Lady Panthers down by two, Rachel Bonander pulled down a rebound and went the other way with a chance to win or tie the game. However, Katie McKenzie’s shot in the paint with a second on the clock was off the mark, and the Fillies escaped with the 28-26 win. Until Paige Powell fouled out with less than a minute to play, the Fillies didn’t have a substitution in the entire game.

Bonander and Jasmyne Lensegrav paced the Lady Panthers with six points each. Aubrie Stenerson followed with four points, to go along with a team-high 10 rebounds and four assists, while Ashtyn Heny and Katie McKenzie each hit a 3-pointer to add three apiece. Katie McKenzie also had two steals and two assists in the contest.

Karlie McKenzie led the team in steals with three, and pulled down four rebounds, while Bonander finished with six boards and two blocked shots.

The game was special despite the loss, as the school honored the seniors on the squad: Karlie McKenzie, Katie McKenzie, Heny, Lensegrav, Stenerson, Bonander, Brea Terry and Devon Curtis all took the court for the final time at Panther Gym. For coach McKenzie, it was extra special: Not only was it his final Senior Night as a coach, he got to share it with his two daughters as well.

“I’ve been through 30 Senior Nights in my career, but that one with my girls really kind of hit home,” he said. “The journey is coming to an end. The team gave me a nice picture with their signatures on it, and that really gave me a heavy heart. It was a very special moment, and I’ll always remember it.”

Lady Panthers 43, Lovell 31

With first place still up for grabs in the 3A Northwest Quadrant, Powell had something to play for Friday at Lovell (4-17 overall, 0-6 in conference), and it showed on the court. The Lady Panthers held off a stingy Lovell squad and pulled away in the second half for a 43-31 win in the season finale.

Powell started fast, jumping out to a 9-0 lead before the Lady Bulldogs found their footing. Lovell clawed back to take a two-point lead, going on an 18-3 run that carried into the second quarter.

“Lovell kept it tight that first half,” coach McKenzie said. “Our turnovers were a little high, but I think that’s because we were trying to force the issue against that defense Lovell had.”

Powell retook the lead, 20-18, on a Bonander put-back as the half ended. Neither team hit a free throw in the first half, with Bonander leading Powell with six points.

The Lady Panthers pulled away in the second half behind an offensive explosion by Stenerson and stingy defense. PHS had 18 turnovers in the contest, but weathered the storm for the 43-31 win.

“We finally broke through in that fourth quarter — Rachel [Bonander] and Aubrie [Stenerson] really got going in that fourth quarter for us,” coach McKenzie said. “We played some good defense, got some big rebounds and we were able to pull away.”

After struggling on offense against Cody, Stenerson got back to her scoring ways against Lovell. The second-leading scorer in 3A netted 18 points, including an 8-for-9 performance at the charity stripe, and grabbed six boards; she also had three steals and three blocks.

Although Lovell ran a “box-and-one” on Stenerson, she “continued to work, and we finally got some back cuts on that and get her streaking to the basket,” coach McKenzie said.

Bonander finished with 11 points to go along with eight boards, while Curtis chipped in five points. Katie McKenzie, Terry and Lensegrav scored three points. Karlie McKenzie finished with seven boards, four assists and a steal.