The Alba-Golden Lady Panthers had one excellent quarter of play in their season finale 42-13 loss at Boles High School last Tuesday.

An early nine-point deficit, right out of the blocks, put the Lady Panthers on the defensive. It took the balance of the first quarter for the team to gather their feet and begin to rally. As the second quarter commenced, Alba-Golden trailed 10-3.

Predictably, it was rebounding which brought the Lady Panthers back into the game. Alba-Golden outscored the Boles Lady Hornets by four points in the second quarter. 

In addition to hitting the boards, the Lady Panthers found inside scoring opportunities against the man-to-man defense of the Lady Hornets.  Two beautiful assists from Cacie Lennon to Kalli Trimble and Kylie Kennedy resulted in scores. Kennedy drove the lane for a second basket in the quarter. 

Two physical plays – an incredible demonstration of hustle by Kamrin Wright who chased down a loose ball in the mid-court, and a strong possession by Alexis Wilmut who ripped the ball away from her counterpart – seemed to indicate that the Lady Panthers would finish strong.

That was just not the case. Alba-Golden started the third quarter by turning the ball over in the offensive zone on their first five possessions. Five additional turnovers in the quarter literally handed the hosts a huge lead. At the end of three quarters the score stood 26-13.

While physical activity never wavered, the game continued to trend negatively for the Lady Panthers. Frustration and turnovers combined to result in the season-ending loss.