PHS girls advance to title match, boys to consolation championship

Casper bills itself as Wyoming's "Adventure Capital." It sure lived up to its slogan yesterday.

The guys and gals basketball teams from PHS made huge comebacks late in their games on Friday to pull out two thrillers.

In a 4:30 p.m. matchup against the Lady Bison of Buffalo, the Lady Panthers found themselves down 14 with only about 5 minutes left in the third quarter. A spirited run brought Powell within striking distance, but with only three minutes left in the game, they still trailed by eight.

Never panicking, PHS kept the pressure on Buffalo, made some critical free throws and buckets down the stretch, and found a way to pull out a 47-44 nail-biter.

Lady Panthers head coach Luke Danforth's expression after the game pretty much says it all. John Wetzel snapped the photo.

The win will pit them against the Lady Broncs of Jackson in tonight's Class 3A championship game. It will mark the fourth meeting between the two-time defending champs and PHS.

In December, Powell lost their first match with Jackson, 41-28. But Powell took a 35-34 thriller at home in February, and last week at regionals, emerged with a 44-41 victory to claim the western conference's No. 1 seed.

Jackson advanced to tonight's title match after decimating Torrington yesterday, 46-18.

The girls will tip off as soon as the 4A girls' title game ends. That 4A contest starts at 3:30 p.m.

Meanwhile, on the guys' side, the Panthers similarly found themselves down 12 at the end of the third quarter. After a furious run, the dudes battled back into the contest and came out on top with a stunning 57-55 win.

They'll play Torrington at 12 p.m. today for a shot at the consolation championship.

You can look at the full brackets for the boys and girls on this WHSAA page. You can also follow the games (fairly) live online here. I think the contests are also slated for broadcast on KPOW.

You'll be able to read full recaps of all the state action in Tuesday's Powell Tribune.