The Powell High School girls’ basketball team has improved steadily since last year’s season, and the squad’s record now proves it. 

The Panthers earned their fourth win of the 2020-21 season on Friday, eclipsing last year’s three-win mark. Despite a slow start, PHS upended Thermopolis 63-58 to kick off a 1-1 weekend. 

PHS head coach Chelsea Buher described the game as one of the “worst defensive games for two and a half quarters,” as Powell allowed the Bobcats to lead into the second half. Eventually, however, PHS applied a full-court press and started moving more quickly on the offensive end, allowing the Panthers to come from behind. 

“We created our own magic and made things happen,” Buher said. “We started out really slow, but we regrouped and made some adjustments.”

While the defense wasn’t there for the first portion of the game, Powell’s offense was consistent. The Panthers shot 44% from the field, with three players finishing in double figures. Rose Graft and Addy Thorington both logged 16 points, while Megan Jacobsen finished with 10. 

“We were finally able to score,” Buher said. “It was actually our best scoring game.”

The next game, however, Powell was unable to compete. At home on Saturday, the Panthers fell 51-24 to Worland. Thorington led the Panthers with nine points and eight rebounds.

Buher said the outing was the team’s “worst game on both ends of the floor” and the season’s only game in which the girls haven’t been competitive.

After the split, PHS is now 4-10 overall. Though Powell still doesn’t have a winning record, the girls’ improvement has been on display all season long, with the team losing only four contests by more than 15 points.

Buher said she thinks the team would have more wins if it played some of the games scrapped due to COVID-19. Still, the Panthers have officially posted a better record than last year. And as the team wraps up the regular season, Buher’s goal for her squad is the same: play competitive basketball. 

“I just want us to play our best basketball,” she said. “I hope we can pull out a couple of wins to get the momentum going. It has been an interesting year, but we’re getting better and showing more fight.”

PHS hits the road this weekend for games against Lyman and Mountain View — two opponents the Panthers don’t normally face in the regular season. The weekend begins at 5:30 p.m. Friday against Lyman.

Powell 63, Thermopolis 58

Points — Rose Graft 16, Addy Thorington 16, Megan Jacobsen 10, Maddie Campbell 9, Hailee Hyde 6, Abigail Urbach 2, Madi Fields 2, Rylynn Valdez 2; Rebounding — Thorington 11, Graft 6, Campbell 6, Hyde 4, Jacobsen 3, Urbach 1, Fields 1, Valdez 1, Kami Jensen 1

Worland 51, Powell 24

Thorington 9, Graft 4, Valdez 3, Kaili Wisniewski 3, Campbell 2, Jacobsen 2, Hyde 1; Rebounding — Thorington 8, Graft 4, Valdez 2, Jacobsen 2, Campbell 1, Jensen 1