Lady Panthers win 1, lose 1 in 3A West opening games

Posted 1/27/15

“We just played better,” said PHS head coach Scott McKenzie. “And (it was) just good character to come back and play that well.”

Friday’s 43-38 loss to Lovell was a back-and-forth battle for the Lady Panthers the whole way, and it …

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Lady Panthers win 1, lose 1 in 3A West opening games

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Rebounding from a tough overtime loss on Friday night in Lovell, the Powell High School girls basketball team dealt Lander a 22-point defeat on Saturday afternoon.

“We just played better,” said PHS head coach Scott McKenzie. “And (it was) just good character to come back and play that well.”

Friday’s 43-38 loss to Lovell was a back-and-forth battle for the Lady Panthers the whole way, and it appeared early on as though Saturday’s home game might be a nail-biter as well.

Powell 56, Lander Valley 34

Powell (9-3 overall, 1-1 in Class 3A Northwest) led Lander by as much as 11 points in the first quarter, but the visiting Lady Tigers came back to trim the PHS advantage to 27-24 at halftime.

One of the things the Powell girls discussed in the locker room was the importance of a good start in the first three minutes of the third quarter, McKenzie said.

They ended up needing less than two minutes to effectively put the game away.

The Powell girls broke down Lander’s defense and used their own press to wreak havoc with the Lady Tiger offense to score 11 unanswered points in just a minute and 40 seconds.

The run included six points from junior Breanna Donarski and was capped by a 3-pointer from sophomore Kalina Smith that made it 38-24.

“The girls really settled in and broke their zone apart in the second half,” McKenzie said.

Lander (5-9 overall, 1-1 in conference play) never got closer than 11 points the rest of the way. PHS held the Lady Tigers to a single free throw in the fourth quarter.

All 10 of Powell’s varsity players got into the game and nine scored.

Senior Jenni Ebersberger led with 12 points and Smith added 11.

Donarski had eight points, sophomore Dani Asay had six, juniors Danna Hanks and Anissa Warner had five points each, junior Richelle Phister and sophomore Jennifer Bonander each had four and senior Megan Wagner had one.

Wagner led the team with nine rebounds, with Donarski adding eight, Hanks seven, Ebersberger six and Warner five.

Hanks and Smith tallied five steals apiece.

The Lady Panthers shot 20 of 60 (33.3 percent) from the floor and 10 of 18 (55.6 percent) from the free throw line, while committing only 10 turnovers.

Lovell 43, Powell 38

Playing in Lovell the night before, “we just came out flat,” said McKenzie.

Lovell (9-2 overall, 2-0 in conference play) opened a 19-9 lead halfway through the second quarter.

“We were trying to make tough passes; we were just trying to do too much at once,” the coach said.

Powell called a timeout and set a goal of cutting the Lovell lead to four by halftime, McKenzie said.

Following the plan, the Lady Panthers shut out Lovell for the final three minutes and 43 seconds of the half; Ebersberger sank a 3-pointer shortly after the timeout and added a basket just before the buzzer to help make it 19-15.

The Powell girls then opened the second half with a 10-2 run to go up 25-21.

“Things were going well, but Lovell did a great job of just answering all of our spurts,” McKenzie said. “They played well.”

Powell still led by four, 31-27, with less than than three minutes remaining, but a pair of 3-pointers from Lovell’s Charri McArthur propelled the Lady Bulldogs to a 33-31 lead.

Ebersberger tied things by knocking down a pair of clutch free throws in the final minute. The Powell girls had an opportunity to win the game on a fast break, but when they couldn’t capitalize, the game went to overtime.

“We had our chances and just didn’t get it done,” McKenzie said.

Lovell quickly took a 36-33 lead in the bonus period. A 3-pointer from Ebersberger briefly re-tied the game, but Lovell responded with a basket to take the lead for good. A missed open lay-up and a turnover — along with steady 3 of 4 free throw shooting from the Lady Bulldogs — sealed the Lady Panthers’ fate.

“We definitely hope to learn from that loss,” McKenzie said, predicting it will help the team in the long run.

For example, McKenzie said when Donarski fouled out in the final minute of regulation, the silver lining was that Phister got some critical varsity minutes.

The coach said the bench will be critical for the team toward the end of the season and “our bench is really growing up and coming along.”

Ebersberger led with 14 points against Lovell. Hanks added eight, Wagner and Smith four each, Phister and Asay three each and Donarski two.

Smith had a team-best six rebounds.

The Lady Panthers made 14 of 39 (35.9 percent) shots from the floor and 7 of 12 (58.3 percent) free throw attempts. They had 21 turnovers.

This weekend, the Powell girls have their first full weekend at home. They’ll host Mountain View (8-4) at 5:45 p.m. Friday and Pinedale (4-7) at 12:45 p.m. Saturday.

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