A strong year of growth helped the Powell Panther freshmen girls’ basketball team finish just above .500 — ending the year on a win with a 10-9 record.

“This year, I wanted this group to focus on improving each day,” coach Andrew Borcher said. “The record took care of itself.”  

The Panthers finished the season with a victory over Burlington — a team that had beaten Powell a week prior by 30 points.

Unfortunately for Powell, Worland was unable to host the end of year tournament — ending the Panthers season earlier than usual.

The team this year featured only seven girls, allowing for plenty of playing time throughout the roster.

Ivy Agee led the way in scoring this year for the Panthers. Borcher described Agee as a quiet leader on the team who used her speed and strong defensive abilities to help jump-start her game.

Neveah Garcia was another strong offensive spark for the Panthers, while Shelby Zickefoose used her height on the defensive end to anchor Powell inside.

Maria Estes was a continuous force on the boards, while Nalani Jordan also provided a strong defensive effort for the Panthers.

Coming off the bench for the Panthers were Anai Torres and Meisja McCrary, who helped come in and contribute for Powell throughout the season.

“It took all seven and we all had to do our job,” Borcher said.

Throughout the season the entire team continued to grow together — they couldn’t even experience a five vs. five game until the Lovell tournament to open the season.

“We were rough at the start but just from the first to second game we started to gel defensively, then fast forward to our last game where we came out and beat a Burlington team that beat us the previous week by 30 points is proof of the growth that we had this year,” Borcher said.

He said the team learned how to finish off games late, while also using losses as learning moments to help the team grow moving forward.

“It’s about learning and growing forward so that each athlete can continue to contribute throughout their years at Powell High School,” Borcher said.

He said the team also had a strong bounce back against Buffalo — a team that beat the Panthers early in the year but Powell got revenge on the Bison in February on the road.

He said the team was coachable throughout the season, lending to the strength of the young Panthers.

“That is something that I always look for in a group is not how much talent there is or who can do what, but are they coachable,” Borcher said. “Top to bottom this group was coachable and I applaud them for that. It makes my job more enjoyable.”

Off the court, Borcher said he enjoyed the time the team spent on bus trips and those are the memories he would take away from this season.

“Building relationships through bus trips and getting to know each player as an individual is something that I will remember more than the wins and losses,” he said.