There was a collective exhale from the Alba-Golden side of the gymnasium in Commerce with two minutes to play in the opening quarter of the Alba-Golden vs. Detroit bidistrict game.

Taking a pass from Joecey Lewers, Kayleigh Logan launched a long 3-point shot. It was highly-arched, and when it passed through the hoop it gave that reassuring concussive sound.

That score put the Lady Panthers up 8-3 and ended all the early game jitters which had made the fans nervous. Lainey Teel scored shortly thereafter on a nice feed from Alexis Wilmut, Kalli Trimble promptly stole the ball on the next sequence, and Teel scored again to make it 12-3 after one quarter. 

Alba-Golden went on to route the Detroit Lady Eagles 51-18 Tuesday, Feb. 13.  

All basketball games are instructive and all wins have significant contributors. The special quality of this year’s Lady Panthers squad is that every one of the team could make those noteworthy contributions.

The game was chockful of excellent individual effort. 

Alexis Wilmut took a charge early in the second quarter, then lined up a 3-pointer at the other end of the court. She played with notable presence and positioning, chipped in eight points and took two more charges late in the game. 

Kalli Trimble used great quickness and anticipation to hound Detroit ball-handlers and was key to the Lady Panthers’ press. She also contributed seven points.

Lainey Teel was the only Lady Panther in double figures – she ended the night with 20 points. Her back-to-back scores on offensive rebound put-backs early in the third quarter sent a message that there would be no Detroit comeback.

There was plenty of solid play from the whole line-up, but Erin Langston’s work on the boards in the second half merits special note.

In addition to overwhelming the Lady Eagles by pressuring the ball for 30 minutes, there were other characteristics to the Lady Panthers play which were heartening to see.

Specifically, some nice give-and-go action to and from the post gave basketball purists a real thrill.