Another successful season came up just short for the Powell Middle School eighth grade girls basketball team, with the Cubs finishing in second place in the conference with an 11-4 record.

The season kicked off with a strong win over Riverton, before the Cubs lost to Lander 44-40 in overtime for their first loss of the year.

“They had beaten (Lander) easily as seventh-graders,” coach Dale Estes said. “They had a guard move in, they thought it would be easy and Lander trapped us the whole game.” 

After that game the Cubs rattled off three consecutive wins before the first matchup of the season against Cody.

Cody won that matchup 36-24 to give Powell its second loss on the season.

Powell then reeled off four straight wins over Lovell, Rocky Mountain, Thermopolis and Worland before the Cubs faced Cody in the second regular season matchup.

Again Cody pulled ahead of Powell, defeating the Cubs 35-24 to make the eighth-grader’s record stand at 8-3.

Powell defeated Burlington 36-17 before heading into the conference tournament in Worland where the Cubs squared off with the hosts in the first round.

The Cubs continued their improvement against Worland, with their biggest win over the Braves for the season at 40-11.

Powell then got revenge over Lander for its earlier season loss, running away with a 52-20 victory to set up a title game with Cody.

Cody again got the better of the Cubs, winning 45-29 and sending the Cubs to an 11-4 record. In the championship game, Estes said the Fillies finished with seven 3-pointers in the game and shot nearly 70% from the 3-point line.

“One of our goals this season was to beat them and we never quite got it done,” Estes said. “They have quickness and are a good team.”

Over two seasons in middle school Cody handed the Cubs six of their seven losses including the championship game both seasons.

Overall for the season the eighth-graders averaged 38.3 points per game while holding opponents to 22.3 points per game.

A smaller group this year allowed for a lot of girls to get playing time at both levels for the Cubs.

A couple of injuries slowed down Powell, with two girls off the bench sustaining knee injuries throughout the season and not fully recovering.

Standing out for the Cubs was Emery Hernandez, who typically led the team in points, rebounds and even led sometimes in steals and assists.

“She probably overall was our best player,” Estes said. “She was the person who got the offense going and was a good team leader.”

Some players who came on throughout the season and improved were Leah Graham, Sidney Costello and Kaedenze Carter.

Estes said Carter came on at the tournament to end the season and scored 39 points over those three games to help the Cubs.

He said Maddie Valdez was one of the best hustlers and defenders on the team, helping contribute to an overall strong team.

“It was a team effort, which is what you want,” Estes said.

He said he would remember how this team worked hard and improved throughout the season, in addition to stepping up whenever injuries or illness struck the team.