A perfect district record. The number one seed. District champions. 

The 2023-24 Alba-Golden Lady Panthers made history in front of a standing-room only crowd, last Tuesday, at the gym midway between Alba and Golden. They used a dominating second half to eclipse the Cooper Lady Bulldogs, 61-51.

It was the last home game of the year – senior night. And, as can happen, the emotions of senior night may have caused some hiccups once play commenced. 

The Lady Panthers got off to an underwhelming start. Cooper leveraged its inside strength and mastered the rebounding in the first quarter. The backside rebounding was especially effective for Cooper as they exploited it at the offensive and defensive ends of the court. 

While both teams suffered a handful of turnovers to start the game, Cooper managed to curb their errors, while the Lady Panthers continued to give away possessions throughout the initial quarter.

Kalli Trimble hit a 3-pointer with a minute to play in the quarter to add to her two free throws. At the end of one quarter the score stood 17-5 Cooper. 

What Coach Troy Wallace said to his team at the quarter break worked. Joecey Lewers scored twice to open the second quarter. Both scores came on tough drives as she had to put her shots up over or between the Cooper defenders. 

Then the Alba-Golden pressure took over causing a series of Cooper turnovers. The Lady Panthers slowly chipped away at the deficit. A Lainey Teel bucket inside, a Kayleigh Logan 3-pointer from the corner, and a Logan steal and score closed the gap to nine points. 

As the half wound down, Alba-Golden forced back-to-back Cooper turnovers. Trimble connected on a 3-pointer in transition, Erin Langston scored on a steal off the press, and suddenly it was a four-point game.

Langston scored again with an offensive rebound put-back, and the Lady Panthers trailed by six with only seconds remaining in the half. 

From a position on the court very near to where Mr. Gibson sits at half-court, Lewers launched a beautiful long-range effort. It was not a heave or a wild toss, it was a classic jump-shot from way, way out. The long, flat trajectory was a thing of beauty. It splashed through to give the Lady Panthers a huge charge of energy and make the score 30-27, Cooper, at the half.  

The Lady Panthers plan for the second half became evident early: get the ball inside, attack and win the turnover game. They succeeded in each area. 

Repeatedly Cooper fouled the Lady Panthers while defending shots in the paint. Alba-Golden endeavored to get the ball inside as much as they could to take advantage. It worked. 

It was two inside buckets – a very nice move by Langston on the baseline and a dish by Lewers to Logan on a break, which tied the score at 35 with 3:05 to play in the third.

The Lady Panthers took the lead moments later, on an Alexis Wilmut free throw. They never relinquished it.

Two quick 3-pointers by Trimble and Lewers to start the final stanza forced a Cooper time out. 

Alba-Golden just did not let the Lady Bulldogs breathe late in the game. They continued to force turnovers and hound the ball all over the court. 

It was Logan – who had her best effort of the year and led the Lady Panthers with 18 points – who put the game away with consecutive 3-pointers as the clock ticked inside two minutes. 

As was a theme throughout their district campaign, the Lady Panthers simply out-hustled their opponent. They also played with a keen sense of finishing and ran circles around the opponent in the late stages. 

After a series of late free throws, the celebration began. It was fun, heartening and well-deserved.   

Joining Logan in double figures were Trimble with 15 and Lewers with 13. Teel contributed 7, Langston 6 and Wilmut 2.

The Lady Panthers won their bidistrict playoff against Detroit Tuesday and face Lindsay Friday, Feb. 16 for the area playoff at 6:30 p.m. in Wolfe City.