Panther girls fall on the road to Rocky Mountain

By Steve Moseley
Posted 1/9/20

A 21-point second period by Rocky Mountain High School put the Powell Panther girls basketball team in a hole from which they could not recover on Tuesday night in Cowley. The hosting Grizzlies took …

This item is available in full to subscribers.

Please log in to continue

E-mail
Password
Log in

Panther girls fall on the road to Rocky Mountain

Posted

A 21-point second period by Rocky Mountain High School put the Powell Panther girls basketball team in a hole from which they could not recover on Tuesday night in Cowley. The hosting Grizzlies took the win, 44-25.

“I saw more positives,” said Powell High School head coach Chelsea Buher, adding that, “We did more things right.”

Trouble is, “we’re getting down on ourselves,” Buher said, and the team is also still “looking for a leader to step up.”

The Panthers led by a free throw at the first period break, 6-5.

After suffering the first of far too many turnovers on their first possession, the Panthers — who entered the season with no varsity minutes returning to the court — got a layup off a possession generated by a steal from Madi Fields to open game scoring. Teammates Hailee Hyde and Rose Graft dropped in a 2-pointer apiece to account for Powell scoring and that one-point PHS lead at the end of the first eight minutes.

Then came a second-period blitzkrieg led by Teagan Townsend, a 5-foot, 5-inch, Rocky senior, who drained a pair of 3-pointers on the way to a game-high total of 17. Four other Grizzlies found the scoring column in the period — which Rocky Mountain took 21-11 — against a 3-pointer from Paije Johnson, a two each by Graft and Rylynn Valdez and a pair of baskets off the fingertips of point guard Maddie Campbell.

The game was getting away from Powell at intermission, with Rocky Mountain up 27-16. The die was cast in the second half, when the Grizzlies netted 18 points to the Panthers’ eight.

Coach Buher was proud of Campbell, a freshman who played her first varsity minutes in the last three periods. Why the last three only? Because she had already notched one period of the junior varsity game. It was only her second appearance with that squad, too. On top of that, her six points on a trio of 2-pointers led all Panther scorers.

Powell battled tooth and nail all night long, of which their coach was proud. But by the second half the outcome was no longer in doubt.

Nothing would fall for the snake-bit Panthers when they did get an open look. Even point-blank shots wouldn’t go.

“We work so hard to get bunnies, then we can’t make them,” the coach said.

Turnovers have been an issue for her green squad this season and Tuesday was more of the same.

That said, there is much to admire despite the team’s 0-5 season mark.

There is much work to do, but “these girls are hustling,” Buher said. “I told the girls we’re playing for more than this game” or any other individual outing during the long regular season to come. “What matters is regionals,” the coach said.

The Powell girls will host the Class 4A Cody Fillies on Friday, with tip-off set for 5:30 p.m.

 

Rocky Mountain 44, Powell 25

Powell — Campbell six points, Graft four, Hyde three, Johnson three, Karina Boreen two, Sidney O’Brien two, Fields two, Shoopman one.

Rocky Mountain — Townsend 17, Taylor Despain 12, Kiera Jolley four, Taylin Boettcher four, Alexis Minemyer three, Josey Steed two, Aubrianne Crosby two.

Powell High School, Panther Basketball

Comments