Level playing field expected for girls state tournament

Posted 3/12/15

Powell High School head girls basketball coach Scott McKenzie isn’t exactly objective, but he thinks all eight squads competing in the Casper tourney are very comparable.

“I think any team coming can win it. I really do,” McKenzie …

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Level playing field expected for girls state tournament

Posted

While Powell Lady Panther fans likely have a clear favorite for the Class 3A state tournament, it’s a bit tougher for more objective observers.

Powell High School head girls basketball coach Scott McKenzie isn’t exactly objective, but he thinks all eight squads competing in the Casper tourney are very comparable.

“I think any team coming can win it. I really do,” McKenzie said.

He expects Saturday’s champion to be whoever manages to put together three good games.

“There’s a lot of teams that could win this thing; we think we’re one of them, so we’ll have to be ready to play,” he added.

Entering the tournament as the 3A West’s No. 2 seed, first up for the Lady Panthers (19-4) are Worland’s Lady Warriors (17-7), the No. 3 seed from the east. Tip-off is set for 4:30 p.m. today (Thursday) at the Casper Events Center.

PHS outlasted Worland back on Jan. 16, 50-46. The Lady Panthers held a 15-point lead in the third quarter before Worland — who finished as state runners-up last year — made things interesting late.

If PHS can again get the better of the Lady Warriors, they’ll advance to face the winner of a contest between the East’s top seed, Rawlins (22-1), and the West’s No. 4 seed, Mountain View (16-8).

Given their strong record, McKenzie figures Rawlins’ girls are likely the tournament favorites.

“We’d like to do everything we can to have an opportunity to play them,” the coach said — though he added that the Lady Outlaws won’t have an easy first round with Mountain View.

McKenzie said his girls also wouldn’t mind a chance to avenge last week’s loss to Lovell (19-4) in the 3A West Regional championship.

“We would like a round five, because we’re tied 2-2,” McKenzie said.

The possibility exists that, if both Powell and Lovell win their first two games, that fifth round could be for the state title.

Powell is averaging 47.9 points a game (sixth in the class) while giving up just 34.1 points (second in the class). The girls’ shooting percentage, 41 percent shooting, ranks third-best, according to stats compiled by WyoPreps.com.

Several Lady Panthers rank individually among 3A’s best:

Senior Jenni Ebersberger is the class’ ninth-best scorer, averaging 10.9 points a game, and ranks fifth in assists (3.2 per game). Sophomore Kalina Smith ranks second in blocks with 3.7 a game and 10th in 3-point shooting with a success rate of 31 percent.

Three Lady Panthers crowd the top 10 in steals per game: junior Breanna Donarski (3), Ebersberger (2.8) and junior Danna Hanks (2.7).

The other teams in the running for the 3A title are Torrington (13-10, the East’s No. 2 seed), Star Valley (18-5, the West’s No. 3 seed) and Wheatland (14-10, the East’s No. 4 seed ).

McKenzie’s excited to see how the Lady Panthers fare.

“They’ve had a great year,” he said. “... and we hope that they compete and good things happen for them.”

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