Finishing the regular season at home the Powell High School girls’ basketball team ended with a split record, defeating Lovell 48-42 on Thursday before falling to Cody 58-24 on Friday.

POWELL 48, LOVELL 42

Starting on Thursday the Panthers (15-7 overall, 6-4 3A West) welcomed in the Bulldogs (14-8 overall, 4-6 3A West) in a matchup that was decided by one point the month before.

Powell started with a 7-2 lead midway through the first quarter, before scoring slowed for both teams as the Panthers held a 9-6 lead heading into the second quarter.

Lovell started the second quarter strong, coming back to tie the game at 13 just before the midway point.

The Bulldogs continued their strong push and even took a 22-21 lead into the locker room.

Powell answered in the third and reclaimed the lead up 29-27 with 3:44 left in the third.

Fine margins continued, as Powell held a narrow 35-33 advantage heading into the final quarter.

The hosts extended the lead slightly to 42-38, before a close finish in the final minutes.

Lovell tied the game at 42 with two minutes left, before layups by Leah Graham and Shelby Zickefoose gave Powell the lead for good.

Emery Hernandez’s free throws sealed the win for the Panthers 48-42.

“I definitely think that we did a better job finishing the game,” coach Chelsea Kistler said. “It was a confidence thing, especially after losing a tight one (the week before) and being able to come through the very next week with another close game. It is growth. Getting a second win against those guys going into regionals, who we’ve got to play again, is a confidence builder.”

Coy Erickson led with 13, Graham added 12 and Hernandez had 10 as the three in double figures.

Hernandez led with seven rebounds and tied with Kindyle Floy with four assists to lead Powell.

Erickson led with four steals and two blocks.

CODY 58, POWELL 24

Heading into Friday the Panthers welcomed in the Fillies (21-0 overall, 10-0 3A West) to end the regular season.

The Panthers trailed 9-4 midway through the first quarter after a close start.

Cody quickly got the lead to double-digits and held a 20-8 advantage heading into the second.

The Fillies pushed their lead over 20, and kept a 39-10 advantage heading into the locker room.

The lead went over 30 in the third, as the Fillies led 55-17 after the third quarter.

Powell outscored the Fillies 7-3 in the final quarter but fell 58-24.

Despite the loss, Kistler felt there were improvements,  including the turnover count being cut down by 10 to 13 from the previous time the two met in January.

“I thought we took care of the ball really well … I felt like we handled their press and handled their pressure in the half court a lot better this go around than we did the first time,” Kistler said. “Our shots just weren’t falling. Didn’t get a lot of second chance opportunities.”

Erickson led with 13 as only three Panthers scored in the game.

Floy led with four rebounds, four Panthers recorded assists, Floy added two steals and Hali Hancock had four blocks.

REGIONAL TOURNAMENT

Heading into the postseason the Panthers won’t have to look or drive far for their next opponent, as the No. 4 seeded Panthers will take on the host Lovell Bulldogs at 4:30 p.m. on Thursday at the 3A West Regional Tournament.

“Going into regionals you want to get the first win under your belt because then you’re halfway there punching your ticket,” Kistler said. “We’ll make some adjustments going into this week and try to come out faster than we did this second time.” 

If Powell wins, it will likely set up another rematch with Cody at 4:30 p.m. on Friday. Cody is the No. 1 seed taking on No. 8 seeded Mountain View.

If Powell loses, it will drop to the consolation bracket at 10:30 a.m. on Friday taking on the loser of the contest.

The Panthers need to win two before they lose two in order to advance to the state tournament in Casper next week.

POWELL 48, LOVELL 42

Total rebounds then offensive rebounds in ()

Points — Coy Erickson 13, Leah Graham 12, Emery Hernandez 10, Shelby Zickefoose 6, Kindyle Floy 5

Rebounds — Emery Hernandez 7 (2), Coy Erickson 6 (1), Leah Graham 6 (3), Shelby Zickefoose 4 (1), Kindyle Floy 2, Hali Hancock 1 (1)

Assists — Emery Hernandez 4, Kindyle Floy 4, Shelby Zickefoose 3, Coy Erickson 2, Hali Hancock 1, Leah Graham 1

Steals — Coy Erickson 4, Emery Hernandez 2, Hali Hancock 1, Shelby Zickefoose 1, Kindyle Floy 1

Blocks — Coy Erickson 2, Hali Hancock 1, Shelby Zickefoose 1

CODY 58, POWELL 24

Points — Coy Erickson 13, Emery Hernandez 9, Hali Hancock 2

Rebounds — Kindyle Floy 4 (3), Emery Hernandez 3 (2), Coy Erickson 2, Hali Hancock 1 (1), Shelby Zickefoose 1 (1), Leah Graham 1

Assists — Emery Hernandez 1, Coy Erickson 1, Leah Graham 1, Kindyle Floy 1

Steals — Kindyle Floy 2, Emery Hernandez 1, Shelby Zickefoose 1

Blocks — Hali Hancock 4

3A WEST REGIONAL BRACKET

(Game 10 at Lovell Middle School, all other games at Lovell High School)

THURSDAY

Game 1 — 9 a.m. No. 3 Pinedale vs. No. 6 Worland

Game 2 — 10:30 a.m. No. 2 Lander vs. No. 7 Lyman

Game 3 — 3 p.m. No. 1 Cody vs. No. 8 Mountain View

Game 4 — 4:30 p.m. No. 4 Powell vs. No. 5 Lovell

FRIDAY

Game 5 — 9 a.m. Loser Game 1 vs. Loser Game 2

Game 6 — 10:30 a.m. Loser Game 3 vs. Loser Game 4

Game 7 — 3 p.m. Winner Game 1 vs. Winner Game 2

Game 8 — 4:30 p.m. Winner Game 3 vs. Winner Game 4

SATURDAY

Game 9 — 9:30 a.m. Winner Game 5 vs. Loser Game 8

Game 10 — 9:30 a.m. Winner Game 6 vs. Loser Game 7

Game 11 — 3:30 p.m. Winner Game 9 vs. Winner Game 10 (Third place game)

Game 12 — 12:30 p.m. Winner Game 7 vs. Winner Game 8 (Championship game)