Powell High School’s freshmen girls basketball team got off to a good start, going 2-1 in a season-opening tournament in Lovell.

“The girls have done a good job for me so far and are very coachable,” said coach Gary Phister. “We have been doing a lot of skill work in practice which is helping them to become better ball players individually and as a team.”

To begin the Dec. 9-10 tournament, Powell faced off against Lovell. The girls took a 17-10 lead in the first quarter and held on to that advantage to win 49-31. Eight players put points on the board, with Michele Wagner leading with 24 points. Sidney O’Brien added six points, Gabi Metzler five, McKenzie Clarkson and Gabby Harshman each scored four, Tenna Desjarlais added three points, Rachel Gutierrez two and Kortny Feller had one.

The second game of the tournament resulted in a 56-22 loss at the hands of Buffalo.

“Had a hard time scoring against their defense,” said Phister. “We had a lot of open looks, but the ball just wouldn’t drop through the net for us.”

Wagner again led the team, scoring nine points. Metzler and Desjarlais each scored three, Sabrina Shoopman, Clarkson and Gutierrez each had two and Harshman scored one point.

“Buffalo had some nice players and we look forward to playing them again in a couple weeks at Buffalo,” said Phister.

The third and final game of the tournament pitted the Lady Panthers against Thermopolis.

Powell had a narrow 26-24 advantage at the end of the third quarter, then held onto the lead and outscored the Bobcats in the fourth quarter for a 36-32 victory.

The Lady Panthers were set to resume their season today (Thursday) against Worland, but the game has been canceled and will be rescheduled. The freshmen will instead kick 2017 off with a trip to Buffalo for a tournament that starts at 10 a.m. Saturday.