Everything one needs to know about the 2021 Alba-Golden Lady Panthers was on display in the final 15 seconds of Tuesday’s 57-42 win at Quinlan-Boles.

Leading by 18 points, the team had settled into their defensive zone. They kept playing however, and came up with a turnover. When a whistle ended the play, now at the other end of the court under the Quinlan-Boles basket, five Lady Panthers were on the scene. They had all sprinted to be part of the break.

That about sums up the nature of the team this season, as well as the course of the win Tuesday at Lake Tawakoni. 

In the course of play only two brief periods of errant basketball marred an otherwise excellent performance. Up by 16 points with two minutes left in the first half, Alba-Golden gave up consecutive turnovers in the back court and allowed Quinlan-Boles back in the game. At the half, it was a 10-point game. 

In a similar sequence with three minutes of game time remaining, the Lady Panthers struggled with inbounding the ball. Although the game was well in hand at that point, this instance will certainly be addressed and corrected. 

With those two fleeting moments aside, Alba-Golden continued the fluid offensive play and hustling, positional defense which has brought them so much success this year.

The offense exploited the high set of the Quinlan-Boles defense and scored all night on back door and passes to the baseline.

The pace of play, which the Lady Panthers never relaxed, completely frustrated the home side. At the opening of the second half, the Lady Panthers had simply exhausted and confounded the Lady Hornets. 

The focused play of Bella Crawford and Cacie Lennon continued, as they harassed their backcourt counterparts all night. Crawford was high scorer for the Lady Panthers with 19 points while Lennon added 10.

Hannah Wright, who had a phenomenal night on the boards, tallied 12 points. Kalli Wright, Jade Kruze  and Kamrin Wright also etched the score card.   

Kamrin Wright received a starting nod in the place of a recuperating Autumn Whitten. Wright’s persistence paid off with timely results throughout the game. At one juncture she came from the opposite side of the court to track down a loose ball deep in the back court.

The most telling aspect of the Lady Panthers’ improvements since the beginning of the year has been their ability to create good shots and the aggressiveness they demonstrate in taking those shots. 

There are yet a multitude of game situations which the team has not yet weathered, but all indicators are that this team is serious about winning and having fun doing it.