At the weekend’s Douglas Classic, the Panther girls’ basketball team got a measure of revenge against Wheatland, convincingly dispatched Burns and nearly pulled off a big comeback against their hosts, the defending state champs.

The 2-1 road trip sends the Powell High School team into the Christmas break at an even 3-3.

PHS head coach Chelsea Kistler said there’s still room for growth, but she was pleased with the squad’s progress from the opening weekend, saying they did a real nice job overall.

“We gained some momentum, for sure,” Kistler said.

Douglas 46, Powell 44

Friday’s opening game featured a rematch from March’s Class 3A state tournament, which Douglas took by 20 points.

The Panthers got off to a strong start, with a Leah Graham layup putting PHS up 14-7 with about three minutes left in the opening quarter.

Then Douglas got hot and the Panthers went stone cold.

Over a nine-minute span, the Bearcats put together a 22-0 run that ended with the hosts commanding a 29-14 lead. Douglas added a 3-pointer at the buzzer — their fifth of the half — to make it 32-19 at the midway point.

“We wanted to force them to shoot outside shots, and they caught fire,” Kistler said, adding, “then they started to get more aggressive defensively and got us back on our heels.”

But the Powell girls made some adjustments at halftime and dominated the third quarter, outscoring the Bearcats 21-8. Emery Hernandez put up 12 points in the period. Veronica Kovach capped it by drawing a foul and hitting a free throw to even the game at 40.

Douglas’ roster looks nothing like the one that won the school’s seventh straight 3A title in March, but “that’s still an intimidating program,” Kistler said. “And so to come back on them and be down 13 at halftime and tie it by the end of the third quarter, that took some real guts.”

The Panthers stayed close in the fourth. At the 2:45 mark, Graham tied things at 44 with what would be the game’s final basket. Douglas left the door open by sinking just 2-of-6 free throw attempts down the stretch, but the Panthers couldn’t quite get a shot to fall.

Hernandez nearly won the game at the buzzer with a long-range heave that was on-line. She had hit her last two half-court attempts in practice, “so we knew there was a chance,” Kistler said, and “it about went in.”

Hernandez ended with 18 points. Graham joined her in double-digits with 10 points of her own alongside 14 rebounds — including nine on the offensive end.

“She’s a bulldog on the boards,” Kistler said.

Powell nabbed 32 rebounds to Douglas’ 22, but was hindered by some missed shots and free throws.

“It was a tough one,” Kistler said, “but I was proud of the girls for fighting back ...”

Powell 55, Burns 33

Following the narrow loss to Douglas, the Powell girls got off to a slow start against Burns on Friday afternoon, “but we regrouped,” Kistler said.

PHS never trailed, grabbing a 9-0 lead in the opening minutes. Burns made it 17-16 in the second quarter, but by halftime, Powell was up 25-18.

In the locker room, Kistler said the team talked about the need to move the ball more and stop taking forced or quick shots. The girls responded by putting the game away — outscoring Burns 20-6 in the third quarter and building a 45-24 lead that the Broncs never threatened.

With the increased ball movement and improved rhythm, the Panthers logged 16 assists, led by seven from Coy Erickson. That was paired with strong rebounding and pressure, which helped create 26 Burns turnovers.

“Our bigs on the inside are causing kids to alter their shots,” Kistler added, with Hali Hancock and Shelby Zickefoose using their length and height to disrupt opponents who venture into the paint. Zickefoose blocked four shots and Hancock grabbed six boards.

Hernandez also grabbed six rebounds alongside her 19 points, with Erickson and Kindyle Floy each chipping in eight.

Powell 63, Wheatland 54

After suffering three losses to Wheatland over the past two seasons, there was “a little bit of unspoken pressure” for the Panthers going into Saturday’s rematch, Kistler said, “just wanting to get that monkey off our back.”

The Bulldogs grabbed the lead early, but the Powell girls kept their composure and rallied to claim a 34-25 advantage at halftime.

Though Wheatland drew as close as a basket, “it just still felt like we always had control of the game,” Kistler said. She said her squad “really bowed their neck and knocked down some big shots.” 

The team put up 20 points in both the second and fourth quarters and reached double digits in every period.

While Wheatland got 45 points from just two players, PHS featured a more balanced attack: Six Panthers — Hernandez, Erickson, Graham, Floy, Hancock and Graham — contributed five or more points.

Once again, “our ball movement in this game was really good,” Kistler said, with 17 assists.

“Very unselfish, selfless ball there,” the coach said, with her players passing up good shots to find teammates with better looks.

Hernandez had six assists to go with 24 points — capping a strong offensive weekend — while Erickson added 12 points and six rebounds.

The team also stepped up at the free throw line, sinking 19 of 24 attempts, which “was huge for us,” Kistler said.

Next up

Records don’t mean much this early in the season, but getting back to .500 “still just gives you that positivity to build on something,” the coach said.

The team is working to mesh youth and experience together.

“It’s just going to take a little bit of time,” Kistler said, “but I know we’re going to get there.”

The girls work hard, compete “and they don’t quit,” she said.

After playing six games in two weekends, the Powell girls will get a week off before returning to the gym on Dec. 29. They’ll then return to action on Thursday, Jan. 8, when they host Rocky Mountain at 5:30 p.m.

Douglas 46, Powell 44

Total rebounds then offensive rebounds in ()

Points — Emery Hernandez 18, Leah Graham 10, Coy Erickson 8, Veronica Kovach 4, Hali Hancock 2, Kindyle Floy 2 

Rebounds — Leah Graham 14 (9), Emery Hernandez 5 (4), Kindyle Floy 4 (2), Coy Erickson 3, Hali Hancock 3 (1), Shelby Zickefoose 2 (1), Veronica Kovach 1 (1)

Assists — Emery Hernandez 5, Coy Erickson 1, Leah Graham 1, Hali Hancock 1, Veronica Kovach 1, Shelby Zickefoose 1

Steals —  Emery Hernandez 3, Kindyle Floy 2, Veronica Kovach 2, Leah Graham 1, Hali Hancock 1

Blocks — Coy Erickson 2, Shelby Zickefoose 1

Powell 55, Burns 33

Points — Emery Hernandez 19, Coy Erickson 8, Kindyle Floy 8, Veronica Kovach 6, Leah Graham 5, Hali Hancock 4, Shelby Zickefoose 3, Sam Edgell 2

Rebounds — Emery Hernandez 6 (2), Hali Hancock 6 (4), Coy Erickson 5 (1), Kindyle Floy 4, Leah Graham 4 (1), Veronica Kovach 3, Sam Edgell 2 (1), Shelby Zickefoose 2 (1)

Assists — Coy Erickson 7, Emery Hernandez 5, Kindyle Floy 2, Veronica Kovach 2

Steals — Coy Erickson 3, Leah Graham 3, Emery Hernandez 3, Veronica Kovach 3, Autumn Kidd 2, Sam Edgell 1

Blocks — Shelby Zickefoose 4

Powell 63, Wheatland 54

Points — Emery Hernandez 24, Coy Erickson 12, Leah Graham 9, Kindyle Floy 7, Hali Hancock 6, Shelby Zickefoose 5

Rebounds — Coy Erickson 6, Emery Hernandez 6 (3), Kindyle Floy 5 (1), Leah Graham 5 (2), Shelby Zickefoose 5 (3), Hali Hancock 2 (1), Veronica Kovach 2

Assists — Emery Hernandez 6, Kindyle Floy 3, Leah Graham 3, Coy Erickson 2, Veronica Kovach 2, Shelby Zickefoose 1

Steals — Coy Erickson 2, Leah Graham 2

Blocks — Coy Erickson 1, Shelby Zickefoose 1