Lady Panthers power to 5-1

Talbot leads Alberton with 13 points

With only three days to go until Christmas, the Lady Panthers weren't in a giving mood and used 15 takeaways and a stingy defense to sink the Pirates 37-23 in Alberton Saturday.

Trailing 2-7 late in the first quarter, the Panthers started pressuring the ball and held Victor scoreless until midway through the third quarter. During that time Alberton put up 22 straight points and had a 24-7 lead with just over four minutes to play in the third quarter. Alberton held on for the rest of the way to claim their fifth straight victory and go 5-1 on the year.

Alberton coach Erik Johnson said the Panthers offense is starting to come around, but their defense has been the key in their win streak. "It's mostly just the pressure we have, the transition points we get…We're forcing 20 turnovers a game," Johnson said.

"It's tough to beat a team that does that," he added. Alberton forced Victor to commit 27 turnovers in the game, with 21 of them coming in the first half.

With the win, Alberton also moved to 3-0 in conference play.

If the rest of the conference hasn't already stood up and taken notice of the Panthers they probably should, because Johnson said they're pretty banged up and haven't even started playing their best ball.

"Oh, we can play much better," he said. Johnson said they've won a couple of close games that shouldn't have been so close, but he's not complaining. "You can't be upset with 5-0," he said.

Senior Cleo Talbot led Alberton in scoring with 13 points. Talbot also pulled down nine rebounds and accounted for five of Alberton's 15 steals.

Senior Becca Petersen also had five steals and put up seven points for the Panthers.

Jordan Marvin and Nettie O'Rourke each had five points. Marvin also led the team in rebounds with 10.

The Panthers will try to continue their winning streak with a road game against Arlee Jan. 4 and a home game versus Hot Springs Jan. 5.