The Alba-Golden boys and girls varsity squads went to Boles High School Friday hoping to stay within striking distance of the district leaders. The Hornets, however had other plans, and sent the girls side home with a 41-36 loss and the boys team with a 57-48 defeat.

Although Alba-Golden yet holds high probability of securing playoff spots, the night was frustrating for the varsity teams on several levels. 

Most notably, turnovers continue to haunt Alba-Golden basketball. In a remarkable parallel, the Lady Panthers fell behind after one quarter of play by the score of 14-5; the Panthers likewise were trailing 13-5 after the first quarter of play. Turnovers were the major contributor to the deficits in each case. 

The turnovers ranged from clear misjudgments in the passing game to dribbling the ball into a corner trap. Over-ambitious efforts to push the ball also figured in each game.

Cacie Lennon kept the Lady Panthers from being shut-out in the initial quarter by hitting a 3-pointer and closing the quarter with a scoring drive. 

In the boys game, the work of Gavin Dailey (three defensive rebounds and two steals in the first quarter) kept the game from getting out of hand.

Especially when on the road, a cold shooting hand is always tough to overcome. Alba-Golden struggled mightily, especially early in each game. At one point the Panthers pulled down five consecutive offensive rebounds but could not convert a basket. 

For the Lady Panthers the night then unfolded with two quarters of back-and-forth basketball as both they and the Lady Hornets exchanged scores. 

The Lady Panthers righted their ship in the second quarter, taking a 23-21 lead into halftime on an Erin Langston score from a Kamrin Wright assist. Lennon stoked Alba-Golden’s play in that comeback, scoring nine points in the quarter on a variety of shots. 

A wild, careening third quarter saw Alba-Golden offensive production disappear. They managed only four points in the quarter while the Lady Hornets exploited the Alba-Golden press by scoring 11, half of which were scored on long breaks.

Despite the downturn, the Lady Panthers trailed by only five at the start of the final quarter. Unfortunately, the fourth quarter was a scoring drought for Alba-Golden. 

They had 17 offensive possessions in the quarter. The results were four scores, eight missed shots, two missed lay-ups and three turnovers.   

The Lady Panthers have four district games remaining; they faced Cumby on Tuesday, travel to Fruitvale Friday, then host North Hopkins on Feb. 3 and finish at Cooper Feb. 7.

They will surely be looking to replicate some of that early season consistency as they near playoff seeding.   

In the evening’s nightcap, the Panthers could simply not overcome their bad start. They managed to close to within six points of the Hornets late in the second quarter on a Conner Gibson score but ended up going into the half down by 10.

In the third quarter Alba-Golden gave up too many easy baskets to an athletic Hornets squad, while the Panthers’ finishing went lacking. 

There were plenty of moments that could have sparked a fourth quarter comeback for Alba-Golden – a Boogie Trimble 3-pointer early in the quarter, as well as 3-pointers by Brayden Randolph and Gavin Dailey.  Each time, however, the Hornets were able to answer.

Without defensive stops, there could be no comeback. The Panthers could close no nearer than eight points with 2:20 left to play.

After going 3-3 in the first round of district play, the Panthers began their second round of district Tuesday at Cumby.