It was not supposed to be much of a game Monday. The Cooper Lady Bulldogs held a 25-9 record on the year and were 8-0 in district play. Their average margin of victory in district was 26 points. That included a runaway rout of the Alba-Golden Lady Panthers in the first round of district action. 

The Lady Panthers possessed one district win; however four of their district losses were by single-digit margins. One thing was clear about the Alba-Golden squad this year – they would compete and they simply kept playing.

It was then the perfect setting for the Lady Panthers to stage an ambush of the top-rated Cooper squad. Through sheer grit and fortitude they came mighty close to doing just that. Cooper escaped Alba-Golden with a 48-41 win. 

The game started much like the first round match earlier this year. Cooper sprinted to an 11-2 lead. Alba-Golden regrouped after a time out. Some nice ball movement and an emphatic shot block by Alexis Wilmut sent a message that the Lady Panthers intended to challenge the visitors at every turn. 

Down by seven points at the end of a quarter, the Lady Panthers simply unnerved the Lady Bulldogs in the second quarter. With team hustle, timely offense, and two shot blocks by Kylie Kennedy, the Lady Panthers closed the score to 15-13 with three minutes in the half.

Cooper rallied, however, to stretch the lead to nine points at the half time break.

Alba-Golden dominated the third quarter, outscoring Cooper 9-2. Coming out for the second half, the home side hit the rebounding boards hard. They scooped up seven rebounds in the first three minutes. 

Cooper began to lose its composure. The Lady Panthers, to their credit, did not respond to the exasperation of the visitors. The Lady Panthers just kept playing basketball. 

Meanwhile, the Lady Panthers were getting the ball inside and Kennedy was cashing in with a soft touch around the basket. She recorded 19 points and resolutely defended the taller Cooper posts.

Going into the final quarter Cooper held a 28-25 lead. 

As the quarter commenced, it was the Cooper head coach who lost his composure and was whistled for a technical foul.    

With 6:00 on the clock, Kennedy took an inbound pass under the basket and laid the ball in. Alba-Golden had taken a 29-28 lead. In the next sequence, Cacie Lennon corralled an offensive rebound and found Kennedy in the lane. She hit a short jump shot. A second inside basket by Kennedy gave the Lady Panthers a 4-point edge.

Cooper reverted to their strength and exploited their height advantage in the closing minutes. They went on a 7-point run. The Lady Panthers were able to make it a two-possession game with 1:50 remaining, but Cooper was able to hang on.

The game was a source of pride for the team and the fans. The squad had nearly taken down the district favorite, while the fans watched a team interested in playing basketball and not theatrics.