Before going on winter break, the Powell High School freshman girls’ basketball team was off to a hot start. The Panthers took down Riverton and Burlington, helping them post a 2-1 record.

PHS opened the season Dec. 10 down south against the Wolverines. Coach Andrew Borcher admitted he wasn’t sure how the team would fare in the opener, but he was pleasantly surprised.

The Panthers cruised to a 43-20 win, fueled by well-spread offense. Freshmen Brynn Hillman and Waycee Harvey were the offensive leaders, notching 14 and 10 points, respectively.

“I thought we had a good performance,” Borcher said. “I wasn’t sure how the girls would come out, but we had a nice balance of scoring offensively.”

The next game, Powell picked up its first loss on Dec. 11, falling 34-17 to Buffalo. None of the Panthers reached double figures, and Borcher believes the Bison wanted it more.

“We lacked some intensity that we had the night before,” the coach said. “From this game, we saw that we needed to be more physical.”

In its last game before break, PHS once again won by double digits. It was the girls’ physicality from start to finish that propelled the Panthers to a 38-27 win over Burlington. Hillman once again led the scoring effort, this time with 16 points.

“We controlled the game from beginning to end,” Borcher said. “We came out with the intensity that we needed to have on our home floor.”

When play resumes in January, Borcher said he hopes to see strides in the team’s defense as the lineup begins to come together. The Panthers will take the court next on Monday, Jan. 4 — a road test against Cody.