Wrapping up the final home games of the season the Powell Panther girls’ basketball team split a pair of games against southwest opponents, holding on late against Lander 41-37 before falling short in a valiant effort against Pinedale 52-46.

POWELL 41, LANDER 37

Returning home after a busy early week the Panthers (14-6 overall, 5-3 3A West) took on the Tigers (10-9 overall, 4-4 3A West) for senior night.

Scoring was hard to come by for either team in the first quarter, as Powell trailed 4-2 midway through, but finished strong and led 8-4 heading into the second.

Powell got its offense going early in the second quarter, making it a 15-6 game after a Saige Kidd layup and forcing a Lander timeout with 5:19 remaining.

From that point forward the Tigers switched to a zone defense, stopping the Panther offense in its tracks and going on a 9-0 run to tie the game at 15 with two minutes left before a Powell timeout. Neither team scored the rest of the half.

“We had to figure out how to attack the seams and the gaps again … we don’t see a lot of zone,” coach Chelsea Kistler said. “It’s not that we can’t be successful against it. We just had to get used to it again.”

The third quarter was all Emery Hernandez for the Panthers early, as she scored the first seven points to gave Powell a 22-21 lead midway through the frame.

That strong scoring continued, as Hernandez wound up scoring the first 13 points of the second half for the Panthers to build a 28-23 advantage.

“She [Hernandez] was able to knock down some really big threes for us from the outside and that got us going. We really feed off of each other, whether we’re hitting or we’re not hitting, that’s just how we feed off of each other,” Kistler said.

Powell got additional scoring late, and led 33-30 heading into the fourth.

Another slow scoring quarter in the fourth saw Powell up 38-34 midway through the frame.

Neither team scored until Lander got an and-one with 1:24 remaining, calling a timeout to set up a press against the Panthers.

Down the stretch Powell got one free throw from Coy Erickson and two from Kidd to seal the win with a 41-37 victory.

“Those were huge free throws, especially in the moment in her [Kidd’s] eyes,” Kistler said. “I mean, that’s senior night and that’s a lot of pressure and a lot of emotions going through her head. To be able to step up there and knock them both down it kind of sealed the deal for us, and something I was very proud of her for doing.”

Hernandez finished with 16 points to lead all scorers. Erickson led with seven rebounds and five assists while Alexa Richardson led with four steals.

PINEDALE 52, POWELL 46

Heading into Saturday the Panthers welcomed in the top team in the West in the Wranglers (18-1 overall, 8-0 3A West).

Powell started out strong from beyond the arc, as Erickson’s eight points helped Powell hold an 11-8 lead midway through the first quarter.

Erickson and Hernandez each tossed in eight points in the first quarter and helped Powell lead the visitors 21-13 after the first.

“Our first quarters have been our best, and it was big for us to come out that way,” Kistler said.

Starting the second quarter Erickson hit one more 3-pointer, before Elyn Bowers, the second leading 3A scorer in the state, started to get things going for the Wranglers.

“She’s a phenomenal player. I felt like there were a couple times we lost her, and that was kind of in our goals, where we just kind of didn’t execute our game plan as well,” Kistler said. “But for the most part I felt like we had a hand up and that’s all I can ask for our kids is to have a hand in her face and contest every shot.”

Pinedale quickly cut the lead down to two, and then took the lead on a 3-pointer with 3:25 remaining and forced a Powell timeout.

In the second half Pinedale grew its advantage early, with the only Powell field goal coming via a Leah Graham putback as Powell trailed 36-29 midway.

The lead for the Wranglers reached as many as 10, but the Panthers battled back late in the quarter and only trailed 43-38 going into the fourth.

Pinedale again extended the lead to double digits at 51-40 midway through the quarter, but Powell was unable to make its final push until late.

The Panthers were down 51-42 with just a minute remaining, but cut it down to five after Hernandez and Kidd baskets.

Continuing to force turnovers the Panthers had a chance to make it a one possession game on a Hernandez 3-pointer that just bounced out, and a free throw sealed the fate of the Panthers in a 52-46 loss.

Erickson led with 15 points, while Hernandez had 10 as the other Panther in double figures, but led with four assists and three steals.

Graham led with six rebounds for Powell.

FINAL CONTESTS

Powell heads on the road for its final contests of the regular season, making short trips to Lovell and Cody this week.

The Panthers head to Lovell first at 5:30 p.m. on Thursday, taking on the Bulldogs (10-11 overall, 2-7 3A West).

Following that game the Panthers will head to Cody on Friday, also at 5:30 p.m. to take on the Fillies (15-4 overall, 7-1 3A West).

“I just want them to play strong and aggressive and just finish strong,” Kistler said. “We just want to continue to go down the path of where we’ve been playing going into regionals.”

POWELL 41, LANDER 37

Total rebounds then offensive rebounds in ()

Points — Emery Hernandez 16, Catelynn Floy 8, Saige Kidd 6, Alexa Richardson 4, Leah Graham 4, Coy Erickson 2, Ava Teten 1

Rebounds — Coy Erickson 7 (2), Emery Hernandez 5 (3), Catelynn Floy 5 (2), Saige Kidd 3, Leah Graham 2 (1), Alexa Richardson 1, Kindyle Floy 1 (1)

Assists — Coy Erickson 5, Alexa Richardson 2, Catelynn Floy 2, Emery Hernandez 1

Steals — Alexa Richardson 4, Emery Hernandez 2, Saige Kidd 2, Coy Erickson 1, Leah Graham 1, Catelynn Floy 1

PINEDALE 52, POWELL 46

Points — Coy Erickson 15, Emery Hernandez 10, Leah Graham 8, Saige Kidd 6, Alexa Richardson 3, Kindyle Floy 3, Catelynn Floy 1

Rebounds — Leah Graham 6 (2), Coy Erickson 5, Catelynn Floy 5 (3), Emery Hernandez 2 (1), Alexa Richardson 1, Ava Teten 1, Saige Kidd 1 (1)

Assists — Emery Hernandez 4, Alexa Richardson 3, Coy Erickson 3, Saige Kidd 1, Leah Graham 1, Catelynn Floy 1

Steals — Emery Hernandez 3, Coy Erickson 2, Alexa Richardson 1, Saige Kidd 1, Kindyle Floy 1

3A WEST STANDINGS

Overall record followed by conference

1. Pinedale 18-1, 8-0

2. Cody 15-4, 7-1

3. Mountain View 16-5, 6-3

4. Powell 14-6, 5-3

5. Lander 10-9, 4-4

6. Lyman 13-8, 2-7

7. Lovell 10-11, 2-7

8. Worland 1-18, 0-9