For the first 22 minutes, it looked like the Powell High School girls junior varsity basketball team would get a forgettable beating from the Buffalo Lady Bison. The hosting Lady Panthers trailed 32-16 in the waning minutes of the third quarter.

But then things changed, starting with a three-point play from Rachel Bonander during the Dec. 18 game.

“That kind of gave us a little momentum and the girls did a great job of using that,” said PHS JV coach Troy Hildebrand.

The Powell girls turned those points into the start of a 19-0 run and, ultimately, an unlikely 35-32 victory.

“We really struggled for much of the game to put together anything consistent on offense until that final 10 minutes,” Hildebrand said of the comeback. “As we started to have some success on offense, our defense and rebounding improved and allowed us to finish off a great run with the win.”

PHS still trailed by a point late in the fourth quarter. Buffalo thwarted a Lady Panther set play, but Maddy Hanks was still able to find Aubrie Stenerson under the hoop for the go-ahead basket, Hildebrand said.

Buffalo then turned the ball over and put PHS at the line for a 1-and-1.

The Lady Panthers missed the free throw, but Nicole Sanders grabbed the offensive rebound. She couldn’t get her shot to fall, but Stenerson grabbed that rebound to make the game’s final basket.

“Buffalo is a very solid team and this was a really good win for the girls,” Hildebrand said. “Everyone was able to make positive contributions during our run and it should help us down the road.”

Bonander had 13 points, followed by 10 for Stenerson. Tayli Stenerson added five points in two quarters, while Rachelle Cole, Katie McKenzie and Sanders each added two points and Ali Sommerville added one.