Panthers outlast Worland on Friday

Friday’s victory must not have been tense enough for the Powell High School girls basketball team.

One day later, the Lady Panthers nearly exhausted their pressure valve.

PHS fended off a furious Worland rally for a 50-46 victory Friday in Powell before surviving a back-and-forth battle for a 56-55 overtime triumph at Class 3A’s No. 1-ranked Douglas on Saturday.

The Panthers’ pair of wins pushed their record to 8-2 this winter and stretched their winning streak to five. PHS came into the weekend ranked No. 3 in 3A, but could potentially reach the top of the mountain when WyoPreps releases its new rankings this week. No. 2 Star Valley moved to 9-1 after thumping Pinedale 44-28 on Friday.

“We just have great momentum right now,” PHS head coach Scott McKenzie said. “We’re really pleased with our progress. The girls are embracing their roles and we’re playing as one.”

Powell 50, Worland 46

A couple of big runs were almost not enough to secure PHS’s home victory. Worland, last season’s 3A state runner-up, was clinging to a one-point lead in the first quarter when Breanna Donarski’s layup ignited a 10-0 Panther move that leaked into the second frame.

Danna Hanks added a basket, Megan Wagner drained a layup and Jenni Ebersberger and Wagner followed with back-to-back buckets to give their team a 22-13 lead early in the second quarter.

“I thought we did a good job of stringing some baskets together and pulling ahead there in the first half,” McKenzie said of his team, which led Worland 27-18 at halftime. “That’s a good Worland team over there though ... they were state runner-ups last year and didn’t lose a lot of girls ... and we knew they were going to battle us.”

Wagner (layup) and Kalina Smith (a free throw) scored the final points of the first half, and Hanks, Donarski and Ebersberger added 2-pointers to complete a 9-0 run that had the Panthers in control at 33-18.

The Warriors threatened with a 6-0 spurt (all from Haley Schneider) but PHS fought back for a 39-27 lead heading into the fourth quarter.

“We take a lot of pride in our defense,” Ebersberger said. “Sometimes, when we get a big lead I think we tend to relax and let teams come back. But our defense stiffened tonight and we held Worland off.”

A 6-2 run from the Warriors pulled them within seven, and several minutes later, a Schneider free throw preceded Kali Lempka’s trey that cut PHS’s advantage to 46-42 with 1:18 to play. But two free throws from Ebersberger and Donarski restored the Panthers’ six-point lead, and after a Lempka layup with 41 seconds remaining, a Richelle Phister bucket gave her team enough breathing room to survive a game-ending layup from Schneider.

Ebersberger finished with 12 points and Smith and Wagner scored 11 and eight, respectively. Schneider led Worland with 19.

“Very happy with the win,” McKenzie said. “To get that cushion early ... and then they made some nice defensive adjustments, they [went man-to-man] on us a little harder in the second half which was a little bit of the difference in the second half.

“I’m proud of us being able to close out the game. That’s two good games in a row now where we’ve closed it out ... Lovell in the (Big Horn Basin Classic) championship last weekend (Jan. 10) and a great game tonight.”

Powell 56, Douglas 55

Behind double-digit performances from Ebersberger (16), Smith (15) and Hanks (13), the Panthers survived a slugfest in Douglas to knock off 3A’s top-ranked team.

In each of the first three quarters, neither team led by more than three points, and the biggest lead for either team never exceeded six.

“It was a good game ... a gutsy game ... both teams played with a lot of guts and a lot of heart,” McKenzie said Sunday. “I was curious to see how we were going to respond. But the girls came over to the huddle before overtime and were saying ‘We didn’t come five hours to not get this win.’”

Overtime became a reality for the Panthers after Douglas’ Ashlie Blackburn fired a 3-pointer at the buzzer that sent the teams into a four-minute overtime period tied at 46.

In overtime, Ebersberger “took over,” McKenzie said. The senior scored six points in the period, including the first basket of OT and a running jumper from the charity stripe that put PHS ahead temporarily at 51-50.

“Jenni took over in overtime, and she definitely has the skill set to do that,” McKenzie said.

Blackburn drilled a jumper with 13 seconds to play, but as the Panthers moved toward the Bearcat basket, McKenzie opted not to take a time out, instead letting his team decide their own fate.

“I didn’t take a time out ... I saw Jenni had a chance to do some things with the ball before Douglas had a chance to get set,” McKenzie added. “Over the years of coaching, I’ve seen it work both ways. In that 10 seconds of time to think about it, I wondered if the ball was going toward the rim, which it was, and if I call time out, how will Douglas change their defense to stop us.”

What Douglas tried to do couldn’t stop Ebersberger. With time winding down, she charged the free-throw line once again and fired a runner over two Bearcat defenders. The ball settled into the basket with 3.4 seconds left.

“We’re either going to be heroes here or goats, and what a big shot for Jenni,” McKenzie added.

With a foul to give, McKenzie then ordered his girls to halt Douglas’ momentum down court. When the hosts attempted to get back, Donarski, Hanks and Wagner swarmed Bri Leman, who was unable to get a shot off as the final 1.1 on the clock melted away.

PHS led 8-5 after one quarter but trailed Douglas 23-22 by halftime. The Panthers fell behind 27-22 to start the second half, but finished the third period on a 13-6 run to seize a 35-33 edge heading into the fourth.

Blackburn led all scorers with 22 points and Calee Notman chipped in eight.

PHS’ conference slate begins Friday on the road with a 5:45 p.m. contest at Lovell. Lander Valley will then visit Panther Gym at 12:45 p.m. Saturday.

“In our conference on our side of the mountain you have to win as many as you can and steal some on the road,” McKenzie said. “Home court for Lovell will be worth a few points for them, so hopefully we can play them tough again.”