{gallery}12_03_09/practice{/gallery} Junior Leslie Thronburg tries to dribble past senior Katie Kipp during practice recently. The two returning letter winners bring experience to the Lady Panthers this season. Tribune photo by Don AmendThe Powell High School girls basketball team is hoping to build on last season's success — and they have a solid foundation to build from.The Lady Panthers are coming off a 23-3 campaign that took them to the Class 3A championship game, where they were runners-up to Jackson.The PHS girls open the 2009-2010 campaign this weekend in Buffalo, where they'll take on Newcastle, Wheatland and Rawlins in tournament play.

“We're very excited about the upcoming season,” said PHS head coach Luke Danforth.

Powell will be led by four seniors — post players Hannah Pollart and Savannah Donarski, and perimeter players Kami Cooley and Katie Kipp.

They'll be heavily supported by three returning juniors with significant varsity experience — Leslie Thronburg, Olivia Rogers, and Shellie Williams.

“The seven create a nice balance,” said Danforth.

Two sophomores — Emily Kath and Kendra Ostrom — round out the varsity squad.

Last year's team lost three integral seniors — McKenzie Danforth, Darcee Lynn, and Kelsey Allen — but PHS returns its top two scorers and rebounders in Pollart (who averaged 13.9 points and 8.5 rebounds per game), Donarski (11.1 points, 8.2 rebounds).

Both were selected for Class 3A's All-State team.

Coach Danforth described the team's overall approach as “blue collar.”

He said the Lady Panthers will feature the unselfish, team-oriented play that they displayed last year.

“We were happy when our team scored, it didn't have to be us (individually) scoring,” said Danforth.

He said Lady Panther fans should also expect to see more stingy defense from a squad that was second-best in Class 3A, allowing a scant 33 points per game.

On the other side of the court, Powell will continue a deliberate style of offensive play to “work hard for the good shot,” said Coach Danforth.

Selective shooting last year helped boost the Lady Panthers to a 42.6 percent shooting percentage — the best in Class 3A by a comfortable margin.

Danforth said the team will be working to cut down on turnovers, which was a weakness at times. But the coach noted that some turnovers are inevitable when the squad frequently passes to find the best shot.

This weekend's games are the first three contests of a slated 21-game regular season.

“It'll be a very challenging and entertaining schedule for us this year,” said Danforth.

The coach said he expects “a lot of good basketball,” predicting that six of the eight teams in Class 3A's Western Conference have legitimate shots to make it to the state tournament — and only four can.

Lander is returning to the western conference, joined by newcomer Mountain View, which had been playing in Class 2A. Lovell and Kemmerer, conference opponents last season, have been bumped down to Class 2A.

The Lady Panthers' other conference foes include Cody, Lyman, Pinedale, and Worland.

“And of course, there's always Jackson,” said Danforth, noting the now three-time defending state champions in Class 3A.

PHS's opening games should serve a measuring stick and be a good physical test, Danforth said.

“Conditioning is going to be tough the first couple weeks, but what better way (to get in shape) than to run too much,” he said.

In Buffalo, the Lady Panthers are scheduled to tip off at 5 p.m. Friday against Newcastle, at 11 a.m., Saturday against Wheatland, and, later that day, at 4 p.m. against Rawlins.