Strong early pressure and a lead for nearly the entire game evaporated late for the Powell Panther girls’ basketball team, when a late 3-pointer by Erminia Garcia gave 2A No. 2-ranked Rocky Mountain a 51-50 victory in the Panthers’ home opener Saturday.

ROCKY MOUNTAIN 51, POWELL 50

The Panthers (1-4) started the game with a purpose, applying pressure to the visiting Lady Grizz (6-3) from the opening tip.

That strategy worked early, as Powell jumped out to an early 6-0 lead and forced a Rocky Mountain timeout.

“We were trying to get back to where we were in that first tournament,” coach Chelsea Buher said. “It felt like we had good defensive pressure in those games we played that first weekend. The girls did come out with that same tempo and energy.”

Unfortunately for the Panthers, the high intensity defense led to foul trouble early for several players — forcing Powell to pull out of the full-court press early.

After pulling out of the press, Rocky Mountain cut into the lead but Powell still led 12-7 after the first quarter.

The Lady Grizz carried that momentum into the second quarter, tying the contest at 17 with three minutes left in the half.

Powell regained momentum heading into the half, ending the final three minutes on an 8-2 run.

In the third quarter the Panthers continued to maintain the lead and keep the visitors at arms length but took a 36-33 lead into the fourth quarter.

Neither team found baskets early, but Rocky Mountain tied the game at 36 with 5:34 left in the half.

Powell continued to generate turnovers but were unable to convert opportunities on the offensive end after finishing with 22 in the game.

“We are going to work on different drills incorporating some fouling action and giving each other pressure when going up to finish shots,” Buher said. “We have been doing drills like that but we are going to try some different ones this week.” 

Rocky Mountain took the lead, but a 3-pointer by Coy Erickson regained the lead and Addy Thorington free throws extended the lead out to 41-37.

Maddie Campbell, who was the Panthers leading scorer in the game with 17, remained on the bench due to having four fouls, but came in late to try and help Powell seal the game.

The Panthers went up four with two minutes left, but the Lady Grizz did not go away.

A late steal by the visitors led to a basket that cut the lead to one with under 30 seconds left, and a pair of free throws was split to make it 50-48.

Rocky Mountain raced up to the other end of the court, and Garcia found her way around a screen and nailed a 3-pointer to give the Lady Grizz a 51-50 lead with eight seconds left.

“They’ve only hit four threes in eight games all year,” Buher said. “There were two from the Garcia girl, good for her stepping up and knocking it down.”

After a timeout Powell raced up to the other end but the ball was knocked out-of-bounds, but the Panthers retained possession and called another timeout.

On the final play the Panthers found a pass to Catelynn Floy who put up a shot that bounced out and gave Rocky Mountain the come-from-behind victory in the final minute.

“I think we had them down nine at different points in the game and you can’t allow a team to hang around and feel like they have a shot,” Buher said. “We never continued to build and allowed them to claw back into it.”

Campbell led the Panthers in scoring while also finishing with five steals, and Thorington finished with eight points, eight rebounds and five blocks.

BIG HORN BASIN CLASSIC

Powell now heads out on the road this weekend, kicking off the Big Horn Basin Classic in Thermopolis on Friday.

“We are going to split into two equal teams at practice and go hard at each other and continue to work on what we want to accomplish,” Buher said.

Action will start at noon on Friday as the Panthers will take on 1A Riverside (5-3).

Powell then concludes the day by taking on 2A No. 1 Wyoming Indian (9-2) at 6 p.m. Both games will be played at Thermopolis High School.

Games on Saturday will be determined by results from Friday’s games and could be in Thermopolis or Worland.

ROCKY MOUNTAIN 51, POWELL 50

Offensive rebounds in ()

Points — Maddie Campbell 17, Coy Erickson 8, Addy Thorington 8, Catelynn Floy 7, Waycee Harvey 6, Saige Kidd 3, Kami Jensen 1

Rebounds — Addy Thorington 8 (4), Catelynn Floy 8 (5), Coy Erickson 3 (1), Maddie Campbell 3 (2), Saige Kidd 2 (1), Megan Jacobsen 2 (1), Waycee Harvey 1 (1)

Assists — Catelynn Floy 3, Maddie Campbell 2, Waycee Harvey 1, Coy Erickson 1, Addy Thorington 1, Saige Kidd 1, Kami Jensen 1

Steals — Maddie Campbell 5, Waycee Harvey 4, Coy Erickson 2, Catelynn Floy 2, Megan Jacobsen 2, Alexa Richardson 1

Blocks — Addy Thorington 5