In a weekend filled with tough competition the Powell High School girls’ basketball team went 1-2 at the Lander Classic, defeating Newcastle 69-20 on Friday before losing to Pinedale 55-47 and Lander 59-43 on Saturday.

POWELL 69, NEWCASTLE 20

Starting the year against a 3A East team the Panthers (2-1) took on the Dogies (0-3) in Lander.

The Panthers jumped out to a strong lead immediately, trouncing the Dogies through pressure and getting a 9-0 lead in just over a minute and forcing a timeout.

That run lasted until it was 17-0 just before the midway point of the quarter on an Emery Hernandez floater before Newcastle got on the board with 3:47 left.

“That was a great first game for us to open up with because we’re coming in with two returning starters, and everybody else is getting significant minutes and a different role than they had last year,” coach Chelsea Kistler said. “Getting a game like that under our belts to ease us in was really nice, and I thought everybody did a great job.”

Newcastle cut slightly into the Panther lead at 21-9
heading into the second quarter.

Powell extended its lead again in the second, leading 30-17 midway through.

The Panthers finally pushed the lead to 20 on a Hernandez 3-pointer and made it 39-17 with 2:15 left in the half.

Powell kept pressing, and made it a 43-18 game at the break.

That lead only grew early in the third quarter, as a Kindyle Floy free throw made it 48-18 just three minutes in.

The lead hit 40 with just under two minutes left in the third quarter as the Panthers hit a running clock.

Powell saw out the win, and got a significant amount of experience for all of its players en route to a 69-20 win — holding the Dogies to only a pair of free throws in the second half.

“That was the only scoring they did in the second half. I’m absolutely proud of the girls for locking it down on defense and doing such a great job,” Kistler said. “Defense is going to win games, and especially when it comes down to tight games. We really like to be sure that we’re a defensive team, because defense can create your offense. So I was really proud of them for that.”

Kistler said she was impressed with some of her newer players to the lineup, with Hali Hancock stepping up in rebounding, Kindyle Floy and Veronica Kovach stepping up in new roles and Shelby Zickefoose blocking four shots in the contest as the Panthers also got Sam Edgell and Autumn Kidd experience.

“Giving those kids that experience, it’s only going to continue to give us depth and help us in the long run, because we’re going to need that as this is a long season,” Kistler said.

PINEDALE 55, POWELL 47

Heading into Saturday the Panthers took on a 3A West opponent for the first time, matching up with the Wranglers (2-1).

Pinedale came out strong and established a lead, maintaining that advantage at 9-5 midway through the first quarter.

Each team maintained their scoring output and the Panthers trailed 16-11 heading into the second quarter.

Powell tried cutting into the lead, continually getting within a single possession.

Unfortunately each time the Panthers got close, the Wranglers had an answer to keep them at arms’ length.

“We went from having that opener game and then to a Pinedale team that we knew that they had two really good returning players that we were going to put focus on,” Kistler said. “We were being too aggressive defensively, so whenever a shot went up and they got a rebound, we would jump that way too hard and never had a safety net. So they transitioned a lot on us early. That’s tough to come back from if you don’t ever really get adjusted.”

That trend continued throughout the quarter, as the Wranglers led 26-22 heading into the half.

Pinedale tried to pull away in the third quarter, pushing the lead to as many as 11 at 41-30 with just over two minutes remaining.

Powell ended on a mini 4-0 run and trailed 41-34 heading into the fourth quarter.

The Panthers continued cutting into the lead, and trailed 43-38 with 6:36 left.

Unfortunately, every time Powell cut into the advantage the Wranglers had an answer, as Powell was only able to get as close as 48-45 before Pinedale pulled away late for the 55-47 win.

“We just had some young mistakes in that game. Not worried, we’ll get them fixed,” Kistler said.

LANDER 59, POWELL 43

Wrapping up the weekend on Saturday the Panthers took on the host Tigers (4-0) with another look at a 3A West opponent for the first time.

Early on the Tigers took the lead, but the Panthers cut it back down to a possession at 8-6 five minutes in.

Powell continued to keep it close, but a late push by the Tigers extended the advantage to 16-10 heading into the second quarter.

Strong shooting from beyond the arc helped the hosts extend the lead early in the second as the Panthers trailed 25-14.

“They can shoot. We were contesting them and they were knocking them down,” Kistler said. “That’s a team that’s very experienced … I think that Lander, aside from Cody, is one of the better teams we’re going to face this year. They’re a tough team because you’ve got to take away the rhythm and then you’ve got to be ready for them to take you off the dribble.”

That advantage held throughout much of the frame as the Panthers trailed 29-17 heading into the half.

Powell quickly came out and made it an eight point game, but the Tigers answered and held the Panthers scoreless during an 8-0 run to extend the lead to 16.

An 8-0 run followed by the Panthers, ending the quarter strong and trailing 37-31 going into the fourth quarter.

Early on Powell continued to narrow the gap, and trailed 40-35 after a Leah Graham free throw.

Lander answered with a layup, then called a timeout before pulling away for good.

A press by the hosts caused issues for the Panthers, helping spark a 13-2 stretch to pull away before finishing with the 59-43 final.

“When they had called that timeout, I had that inkling that they were going to come out and press. I was like, I don’t know, it’s their fourth game. I don’t know if they have enough legs or not and kind of talked myself out of it,” Kistler said. “That was my own fault there. I’m not worried about us not being able to handle that press. We’ll work more on that.”

Despite the two losses on Saturday, Kistler felt her team is in the right place following the first weekend of the season.

“I told the girls I’m really proud of our first week. I know when you look at the record of 1-2, that’s not what you want to come out with,” Kistler said. “We just have a lot of room for growth, and the team we have now with how hard they work and compete, we’re just going to get leaps and bounds better … I think if we continue to keep that at the forefront of our minds, the sky’s the limit for these girls.”

Full stats from the Lander Classic were unavailable as of press time.

DOUGLAS TOURNAMENT

The Panthers head out once again this weekend for a second tournament, heading to Douglas on Friday and Saturday.

Powell will get to see three new 3A East teams, taking on the host Bearcats (2-1), Burns (4-1) and Wheatland (4-0).

“It’s nice getting to see the other side,” Kistler said. “I think it’ll be a good trip. It’s another three games to just get better and work on us. We’re not putting a lot of focus on the other teams.”

That will be the final action for Powell before the winter break, returning to the court for a home contest against Rocky Mountain on Jan. 8.