Heartbreak.

The Powell Panther girls’ basketball team came up just short in a rivalry contest in which they led for a majority of the game, after a layup by Cody’s Molly Hays with .5 seconds left the Panther Gymnasium shocked and sent Powell to 2-2 after the 48-47 loss.

CODY 48, POWELL 47

The 3A No. 4-ranked Panthers (2-2) welcomed the 4A No. 4-ranked Fillies (4-1) to Powell for the final game for the hosts before the winter break, looking to get a victory in a series that has favored Cody in years prior.

Powell came out strong, playing tough defense and forcing Hays into two early fouls, and the Panthers led 5-2 midway through the first quarter.

Powell continued to push, opening up a 14-8 advantage at the end of the frame.

In the second quarter, the Panthers continued to maintain the lead, but rushed turnovers attempting to leak out and find fast break layups after rebounds continued to give Cody more opportunities to stay in the game.

“That clear-out was open even against these guys. We just didn’t have enough umph and love behind it to get it as far out as we needed,” coach Chelsea Kistler said. “Them being at 4A they are used to that higher paced game. We were trying to get those outlets but we just weren’t getting them far enough.”

The Panthers continued to hold the lead, and got a third foul on Hays with less than two minutes left in the half up 24-19.

Appearing to lead 26-19 heading into the break, Hays came back in and hit a 3-pointer at the buzzer to make it 26-22.

“That 3-pointer going into half was kind of a bummer,” Kistler said. 

Early in the second half, the Fillies came out with momentum, with the score at 30-25 and forcing a Powell timeout with 5:30 left.

Unfortunately for Powell amidst the pressure, Coy Erickson and Waycee Harvey both picked up their third fouls and were forced to the bench and turning solely to Alexa Richardson as the lead guard.

That pressure led to a quick 7-0 Cody run to give the Fillies the 32-30 lead just 1:30 later, but Catelynn Floy eventually stopped the bleeding with 2:20 left to tie it at 32.

“In the second half we didn’t really handle their pressure when they put on their 1-2-2 (press),” Kistler said. “We changed the press breaker and that worked better.”

Harvey came back in and got an and-one, finishing the three point play to give Powell the lead back 35-32.

Powell held onto the lead, and was up 36-34 heading into the fourth.

Cody reclaimed the lead early in the fourth quarter, after a 3-pointer made it 42-40 and a subsequent steal made it 44-40 to force a Powell timeout.

Erickson got a tough finish to go and Floy leaked out on the next possession that resulted in an and-one to give Powell the lead back 45-44 with just over three minutes remaining.

Cody took the lead on the next possession, and both teams battled over the next three minutes.

Powell got the ball back after an illegal screen was called and drew up a play during a timeout.

Addy Thorington found Harvey cutting on the backside who put it in and made it 47-46 with 13 seconds left.

On Cody’s next possession, another illegal screen gave Powell the ball back with eight seconds.

Powell just got the ball in, and Erickson raced down the court before she was fouled.

She stepped up, but missed both, giving Cody one last shot.

“It never comes down to one thing. That’s a lot of pressure on anybody … putting that on a sophomore is an even bigger task,” Kistler said.

A ball over the top found its way to Hays, who put it in as time expired and gave the Fillies the dramatic victory in Powell.

“We had never worked on it so I know it was a tall order,” Kistler said. “When the ball came in we were supposed to foul because we had a foul to give. We were going to try and foul them out of time and get it to a point where it would have been nearly impossible to get a shot off. Hats off to Molly for finishing the shot at the buzzer.”

Richardson led with 12 points just ahead of Harvey who had nine. Saige Kidd also finished with nine points and seven rebounds.

Thorington led with five assists.

In the contest the Panthers finished with 32 turnovers, with 24 of those resulting in steals for the Fillies. Cody also attempted 60 field goals in the game compared to 31 for Powell while going 8-9 at the free throw line compared to 6-13 at the line for the Panthers.

“To lose on a buzzer beater with those types of stats, there’s a lot of promise there,” Kistler said.

WINTER BREAK

Powell now will practice this week for a few days before heading into winter break.

“We are going to implement some new stuff during that time and work on the situational stuff like we just ran into,” Kistler said. 

The Panthers will return to the court to compete on Friday, Jan. 5, making the short trip to Cowley to take on Rocky Mountain High School.

CODY 48, POWELL 47

Total rebounds then offensive rebounds in ()

Points — Alexa Richardson 12, Waycee Harvey 9, Saige Kidd 9, Catelynn Floy 7, Coy Erickson 4, Addy Thorington 4, Ivy Agee 2

Rebounds — Saige Kidd 7 (1), Addy Thorington 6 (1), Alexa Richardson 4 (1), Coy Erickson 3, Waycee Harvey 2, Catelynn Floy 2

Assists — Addy Thorington 5, Coy Erickson 4, Catelynn Floy 3, Alexa Richardson 2, Waycee Harvey 2, Saige Kidd 1

Steals — Addy Thorington 2, Alexa Richardson 1, Waycee Harvey 1, Lauryn Bennett 1

Blocks — Addy Thorington 2