The Powell Panther girls’ basketball team continued its undefeated start to conference play after a tough rivalry loss Tuesday. After turnovers led to a 56-40 loss to the rival Cody Fillies last Tuesday, Powell defeated the Lovell Bulldogs 48-27 on the road to move to 3-0 in the 3A Northwest.

CODY 56, POWELL 40

Heading west for the second matchup with the 4A No. 2-ranked Fillies (11-1 overall, 3-0 4A Northwest), the 3A No. 4-ranked Panthers (10-3 overall, 3-0 3A Northwest) were seeking revenge after a heartbreaking loss in the previous game.

The hosts put on the pressure immediately, as the Fillies pounced on the Panthers and made it a 13-2 game thanks to turnovers and forced a timeout from Powell three minutes in.

“They came out in their press and we didn’t execute our breaker very well,” coach Chelsea Kistler said. “Cody is a very aggressive team and we didn’t handle the pressure.”

Over the final five minutes of the quarter Powell settled in, led by five points from Coy Erickson to cut the lead down to 15-11 after the first quarter.

Another Fillies quick start in the second quarter, quickly pushed the lead to
double-digits.

“I’m not sure what led to our slow start,” Kistler said. “I didn’t feel like we were attacking their zone and attacking them like we did the first time. The way you beat an extended zone is by attacking those seams and making the next layer have to pick you up and step up and that leads to easier dropoffs which I felt we did better the first time than the second time.”

The Panthers went on a short drought, but Ivy Agee ended the poor scoring quarter with a 3-pointer to make it 28-15.

Throughout the remainder of the quarter an up-and-down game ensued, with the Panthers and Fillies stuck in a track meet and a 31-20 game at halftime.

More turnovers came early in the third quarter, but Powell was able to get Cody’s leading scorer Molly Hays her fourth foul as the Panthers looked for a comeback.

Over the final couple of minutes Powell chipped away, and an Alexa Richardson 3-pointer to end the third quarter made it 41-34 heading into the fourth quarter.

An and-one started the fourth for Cody, and the lead was pushed back out to double-digits.

Powell was unable to cut the lead down further, trailing the rest of the way — ending with a final score of 56-40.

Erickson led with nine points, just ahead of Catelynn Floy who had eight points and eight rebounds. Richardson led with five assists while Addy Thorington had three blocks.

Powell had 29 turnovers in the game compared to 13 for Cody.

POWELL 48, LOVELL 27

The loss Tuesday snapped a seven game winning streak for the Panthers, but a quick turnaround had the Panthers heading to Lovell to take on the Bulldogs (10-6 overall, 2-1 3A Northwest) on Thursday.

Powell started strong behind Floy, who had four of the first seven and had the Panthers up 7-4 with 3:30 left.

Despite the lead, Thorington got her second foul early and went to the bench. The Panthers needed to respond without their top scorer.

A scoring drought ensued for several minutes, before a Richardson 3-pointer helped Powell late and another basket before the end of the quarter made it 12-4 after the first.

“Our leads didn’t come in one fatal swoop, it was just a slow build throughout the game,” Kistler said. “I felt like our defense was pretty good, we didn’t allow anyone to have a big night on us.”

Powell leaped out in the second quarter, powered behind a quick scoring run and capped off by an Erickson 3-pointer to quickly grow the lead to 21-4 before a Lovell timeout.

Lovell ended its scoring drought out of the timeout, but Powell continued to push behind Erickson and Waycee Harvey.

The Panthers kept finding baskets and held Lovell at bay, ending with a 26-12 lead at the break.

Out of the locker room the Bulldogs scored quickly, cutting the lead down to 26-17 less than two minutes in.

Unfortunately for Lovell, those were the only points scored for the next six minutes.

Powell answered with a 10-0 run of its own, scoring on backdoor cuts to help expand the lead out to 36-17 before Lovell scored a free throw late to make it 36-18 after three quarters.

In the fourth quarter Powell continued to lead, paced by Thorington who connected on three long range efforts to help the Panthers push their advantage over 20.

Powell continued to lead, with the Panthers moving to 3-0 in quadrant play with the 48-27 victory in Lovell.

“Lovell is always a hard place to play on the road,” Kistler said. “Getting a 21-point win on the road is huge.”

Thorington led with 14 points, five blocks and three steals. Harvey had 10 points and led with six rebounds, five of which were offensive, and four assists.

SOUTHWEST ROAD TRIP

Powell will continue its road trip, this time heading south to take on a pair of 3A Southwest opponents in cross-quadrant action.

That will start on Friday with a matchup against Lander.

The Tigers (6-6 overall, 0-2 3A Southwest) are the only other team to defeat Powell this season besides Cody, after Lander defeated Powell in Lander in the first game of the season 45-42.

“We did not play well in that first game against Lander,” Kistler said. “I am hoping to play better defense than we did the first time around against those guys … They do a really good job of attacking seams and keeping the ball moving.”

That game is set for a 6 p.m. tipoff on Friday.

Powell will then continue down to Pinedale, taking on the top team in the southwest in the No. 5-ranked Wranglers (10-3 overall, 2-1 3A Southwest) for the second time this season.

The Panthers defeated Pinedale 35-28 the first weekend of the season.

“We have to contain (their guards) and do a good job of not losing them early,” Kistler said. “They have been shooting the three more and attacking seams super hard. They’ve been doing that but I feel they’ve obviously gotten better at it … Again just making sure our defense is up to par and controlling what we can control.”

That game is scheduled for an 11:30 a.m. tipoff on Saturday.

All rankings are courtesy of the WyoPreps Coaches and Media poll.

CODY 56, POWELL 40

Total rebounds then offensive rebounds in ()

Points — Coy Erickson 9, Catelynn Floy 8, Addy Thorington 6, Ivy Agee 5, Saige Kidd 5, Waycee Harvey 4, Alexa Richardson 3

Rebounds — Catelynn Floy 8 (6), Addy Thorington 7 (2), Waycee Harvey 6 (1), Coy Erickson 5 (2), Ivy Agee 3 (1), Emery Hernandez 2 (1), Saige Kidd 2 (2), Alexa Richardson 1

Assists — Alexa Richardson 5, Waycee Harvey 3, Catelynn Floy 2, Ivy Agee 1, Coy Erickson 1, Addy Thorington 1, Saige Kidd 1

Steals — Coy Erickson 2, Alexa Richardson 1, Coy Erickson 1, Lauryn Bennett 1

Blocks — Addy Thorington 3, Waycee Harvey 1, Ivy Agee 1, Coy Erickson 1

POWELL 48, LOVELL 27

Points — Addy Thorington 14, Waycee Harvey 10, Coy Erickson 7, Alexa Richardson 6, Catelynn Floy 6, Emery Hernandez 2, Lauryn Bennett 2, Saige Kidd 1

Rebounds — Waycee Harvey 6 (5), Saige Kidd 6 (1), Alexa Richardson 4 (1), Coy Erickson 3 (1), Addy Thorington 3, Lauryn Bennett 3 (1), Ivy Agee 2 (1), Kenzie Fields 1, Catelynn Floy 1 (1)

Assists — Waycee Harvey 4, Alexa Richardson 2, Coy Erickson 2, Saige Kidd 2, Catelynn Floy 2, Addy Thorington 1

Steals — Addy Thorington 3, Alexa Richardson 1, Waycee Harvey 1, Ivy Agee 1, Coy Erickson 1

Blocks — Addy Thorington 5, Saige Kidd 3, Alexa Richardson 1, Waycee Harvey 1, Ivy Agee 1