The direction from Alba-Golden girls basketball coach Dale Clement was pretty clear: “Move your feet and play defense!”

It came at the first quarter break of the Lady Panthers win last Tuesday over the Cumby Lady Trojans. The first quarter had finished with the Lady Panthers up by two points, 16-14. 

The Alba-Golden girls took his words to heart. They shut out the Lady Trojans in the second quarter while putting up 15 points. It wasn’t easy. Almost five minutes had expired in the second quarter before Kayleigh Logan hit a 3-pointer to break the scoring drought. 

Logan’s score opened the gates for the home side. They poured in 15 points in the remaining 3:48 of the half. Jesse Mitchell followed Logan’s score with a strong drive. Kalli Trimble followed that with a 3-pointer, which was scored after the Lady Panthers had pulled down two offensive rebounds. 

Logan scored again on a drive, Cacie Lennon added a free throw and moments later she fired a pass ahead to Kamrin Wright for a score. Lainey Teel finished the scoring run on a nice inside assist from Lennon. 

In a blink, Alba-Golden had established the winning margin. They went into the half leading 31-14 and came away with a 59-33 win. 

Once again, the Lady Panthers had a quick start. They jetted out to a 7-0 lead with a Lennon score on a break, a bucket by Wright on a Lennon assist and a Mitchell 3-pointer from the corner.

The Lady Trojans began to find their pace and kept the opening quarter close with some solid jump-shooting from the field and smart play in the offensive zone. 

Following that scoreless second quarter, Cumby could no longer challenge the lead. Alba-Golden outscored them by five points in the third quarter and four points in the final quarter.

The second half featured some wild sequences and more than one collision. The Lady Panthers had not only started to move their feet, but made a concerted effort to run a dribble and drive offense against the tight Cumby man-to-man defense. 

In possibly their best possession in the offensive zone, early in the final quarter, the Lady Panthers executed three handoffs at the top of the key before passing to the wing, who found the low post with a great pass. 

Kayleigh Logan had another exceptional outing, putting up 19 points and stoking the energy level on the floor. Seven other Lady Panthers etched the scorecard. 

The Lady Panthers stand 2-1 in district play. Early results indicate that they will be making a strong push for the district title. The next chances to see them at home are Jan. 3 vs. Fruitvale and Jan. 13 vs. Cooper.