The Alba-Golden Lady Panthers accelerated quickly once they got traction last Friday at North Hopkins High School. The Lady Panthers came home with a 74-30 win and endeavored to secure a perfect district record when they faced Cooper on Tuesday. 

Alba-Golden took the first match-up at Cooper on Jan. 12 by a 45-41 score. Certainly the Lady Bulldogs of Cooper have been waiting to spoil the Lady Panthers run at a perfect district record and an outright district championship. 

But first, Alba-Golden had to make it past the Lady Panthers of North Hopkins. Alba-Golden won handily, but certainly stumbled at the start.

Four early turnovers in the offensive zone hampered Alba-Golden. With 3:00 on the clock in the opening quarter, the score was tied at 10.

Then, things started to click. Alexis Wilmut put the Lady Panthers ahead with a free throw and 3-pointers arced into the basket from Erin Langston and Joecey Lewers.  

Further contributions from Lainey Teel, inside, earned Alba-Golden an 11-point edge at the quarter break. 

The Alba-Golden press began to take a toll in the second quarter while the Lady Panthers offense also began to heat up. Alba-Golden put in 17 points in the second quarter (from five scorers) and opened a 23-point lead. 

The third quarter saw Alba-Golden demonstrate some nice movement in the offensive zone. They were anticipating the gaps in the North Hopkins zone and were not shy about trying to get the ball inside. The lead stretched to 29 points after three quarters. 

North Hopkins dressed eight players for the game, and by the time the final quarter rolled around, they were gassed. Alba-Golden simply continued to play with the controlled frenzy that has come to define their style.

Kayleigh Logan led Alba-Golden scorers with 20 points. She was joined in double figures by  Lewers with 16. Eight Lady Panthers registered in the scorebook.