The Powell girls’ basketball team didn’t choose a light schedule to start the season, so coach Chelsea Kistler is OK with a 3-3 record headed into the holiday break after finishing 1-2 in a Lander tournament last weekend against a trio of 3A east teams.

“We had a tough weekend,” she said. “We’re starting to figure each other out a little more, and that will only continue to grow as we go down the season.”

Powell lost a rematch of a postseason game last year to Wheatland, got points from every player in a rout of Burns, and avoided a running clock in a loss to defending state champ Douglas. 

Wheatland 51, Powell 48

Powell started the Lander Girls Classic with a rematch of last year’s state consolation semifinal against Wheatland (7-1). The teams went back-and-forth early and in the final minutes, a 3-pointer by Coy Erickson put Powell ahead 11-10. A late three by Wheatland put the Bulldogs ahead 15-13 after the first quarter. 

Wheatland expanded its lead in the second while keeping the Panthers without a basket. The Bulldogs led 28-17 at the half, with Powell’s only points of the second coming on free throws.

Wheatland expanded its lead in the third quarter to 34-22 midway through, at which point Catelynn Floy took a pass on a fast break and converted the layup to bring it back to a 10-point game. 

At 35-25 late in the third Alexa Richardson took a pass and sank a three in the corner to bring the game back to single digits at 35-28, and a putback and-one by Emery Hernandez cut the Wheatland lead to 35-31. Richardson knocked down a layup with 20 seconds left and Hernandez sank a pair of free throws at the buzzer to tie it at 35 after three. 

“We didn’t have a very good first half, came out very slow, had quite a few turnovers,” Kistler said. “We came back out in the second half, turned it around.”

Richardson drilled a 3-pointer early in the fourth to put Powell ahead 38-35 and the Panthers led 42-38 midway through the quarter. Wheatland tied it at 45 on a drop back three with under 1:30 left and took the lead 47-45 with 45 seconds left on a pair of free throws. Richardson sank a 3-pointer with 10 seconds left to cut the Wheatland lead to 49-48, but the Bulldogs secured the 51-48 win with free throws.

Hernandez led with 17 points, 13 rebounds, five assists and three steals, and Alexa Richardson added 13 points.

Floy was hurt in the first half and sat out the second half and the Burns game due to precaution against a possible concussion, although the tests came back fine.  

“This team has always played hard, they’ve never given up and quit, and that couldn’t have shown truer,” Kistler said. “It’s a shame that we came up short after fighting that hard.”

Powell 62, Burns 26

Ivy Agee opened the game with three consecutive fast break layups to set the tone and Powell led 22-5 after the opening quarter.  

“I thought we came out with more confidence,” Kistler said, adding that she’d had a conversation after the Wheatland game about the team having more confidence and starting stronger, as opposed to acting like they’re “touching a hot stove.”

Powell continued to turn turnovers into points in the second quarter, with Shelby Zickefoose finishing a few early fast break layups to extend the lead, which grew to 38-12 at the half. 

Powell shut down Burns (2-6) in the third, allowing only three points until the final minute of the quarter and, after a small run, the Panthers ended it with a putback at the buzzer to lead 56-22 after three. 

The younger Panthers off the bench finished the 62-26 win. 

Agee led with 19 points — a breakout performance, Kistler said — and Hernandez added 11 and eight rebounds. 

Douglas 60, Powell 41

Powell tried but couldn’t close the gap against defending state champs Douglas (7-0) in its final game Saturday at the Lander tournament.

The Panthers struggled to contain the Bearcats from the get go, with Douglas leading 12-5 after a 3-pointer midway through the first, but Powell held on and Douglas led 19-12 after one. 

Powell struggled to score in the second quarter as the Bearcats built a double digit lead, but a layup and-one by Floy and a Richardson 3-pointer in the final minutes, along with a Leah Graham layup at the buzzer, stemmed the tide and Douglas led 32-23 at the half. 

Powell stuck with Douglas early in the third, with Agee sinking a layup with just over four minutes left to make it 38-27. The Bearcats led 45-29 after three. 

Douglas expanded its lead in the fourth quarter on the way to the 60-41 win. 

Hernandez once again scored in double digits with 12, while Floy added nine points and six rebounds. 

“They got to experience [Douglas] firsthand, and we learned a lot from them,” Kistler said. “All we can do is take what we’ve learned from that, and take care of business the next time.”

Up next

The Panthers have some time off for the holidays, then host Rocky Mountain on Jan. 9.

WHEATLAND 51, POWELL 48

Total rebounds then offensive rebounds in ()

Points — Emery Hernandez 17, Alexa Richardson 13, Coy Erickson 8, Catelynn Floy 7, Saige Kidd 3

Rebounds — Hernandez 13 (4), Saige Kidd 5 (1), Coy Erickson 4 (1), Ivy Agee 4 (2), Catelynn Floy 3, Leah Graham 1, Ava Teten 1 (1)

Assists — Emery Hernandez 5, Alexa Richardson 4, Saige Kidd 2, Ivy Agee 1

Steals — Emery Hernandez 3, Catelynn Floy 2, Saige Kidd 1, Ava Teten 1, Alexa Richardson 1

Blocks — Saige Kidd 2, Emery Hernandez 1

POWELL 62, BURNS 26

Total rebounds then offensive rebounds in ()

Points — Ivy Agee 19, Emery Hernandez 11, Saige Kidd 9, Shelby Zickefoose 6, Catelynn Floy 6, Hali Hancock 4, Alexa Richardson 3, Ava Teten 2, Leah Graham 2

Rebounds — Emery Hernandez 8 (4), Saige Kidd 6 (2), Shelby Zickefoose 3 (1), Hali Hancock 2 (1), Catelynn Floy 2 (1), Alexa Richardson 1, Ivy Agee 1, Ava Teten 1

Assists — Alexa Richardson 4, Emery Hernandez 4, Ivy Agee 2, Saige Kidd 2, Ava Teten 1, Leah Graham 1, Catelynn Floy 1

Steals — Ivy Agee 6, Saige Kidd 5, Catelynn Fly 4, Alexa Richardson 3, Leah Graham 2, Emery Hernandez 1

Blocks — Alexa Richardson 1, Emery Hernandez 1, Ivy Agee 1

DOUGLAS 60, POWELL 41

Total rebounds then offensive rebounds in ()

Points — Emery Hernandez 12, Catelynn Floy 9, Ivy Agee 6, Aelxa Richardson 5, Coy Erickson 3, Ava Teten 2, Saige Kidd 2, Leah Graham 2

Rebounds — Catelynn Floy 6 (3), Ivy Agee 5 (1), Saige Kidd 5, Emery Hernandez 4 (2), Alexa Richardson 3, Ava Teten 2 (1), Leah Graham 2 (1), Coy Erickson 1

Assists — Emery Hernandez 3, Ivy Agee 2, Ava Teten 2, Leah Graham 1

Steals — Ivy Agee 1

Blocks — Ava Teten 1