The Albert Lea girls’ team had a split personality Saturday against Rochester Century in a 59-50 loss in Albert Lea.

The Tigers (4-8, 2-4) got off to a rough start in the first half and found themselves down 16 at the half, but as they opened the second half things got rosier.

The first half was as bad as it could be for Albert Lea on the interior. The Tigers were dominated on the glass and had trouble settling in to their offense in the half court.

The Panthers found themselves with easy layups and put backs as Albert Lea was unable to match their physicality in the first half.

Albert Lea committed 14 turnovers in the game, but the 14 turnovers led to 22 points for the Panthers (10-4, 7-3) took advantage with easy layups.

Albert Lea shot 26 percent in the first half as the Panthers contested nearly every shot and made life difficult for the Tigers.

“They did not give up any easy shots,” Albert Lea head coach Sean Gillam said. “We had to go in there and earn it.”

Century pressed Albert Lea throughout the first half and the Tigers handled it capably until they got into the half court. Once in the half court the turnovers started to occur and that was troublesome for Gillam.

“We’re still rushing a little bit,” Gillam said. “We just need to learn to calm down when we get in the half court.”

Albert Lea did display poise in the half court in the second half and found better looks at the basket, shooting 40 percent from the field in the second half.

“It really, in the second half, came down to us just wanting to play the way we know how to play,” Gillam said. “I don’t think any of us are satisfied that we played good two good halves.”

Albert Lea outscored Century 31-24 in the second half as its defensive play improved drastically. The Panthers shot 40 percent from the field in the first half, but that number dwindled to 20 percent in the second as the Tigers started contesting more shots.

The Tigers whittled the 16-point halftime deficit down to nine midway through the second half as they started attacking the basket.

Abbey Arends led the way as she converted two 3-points plays during a 14-5 run in the first 8 minutes of the second half. Arends finished with 19 points on the night to lead Albert Lea.

The Tigers got to within eight points of Century with less than 40 seconds to play, but that’s as close as they would get.

Gillam had high praise for the Century squad after the game.

“They played where we want to be pace-wise and they were as physical as we want to be,” he said. “They’re a great team.”

The Panthers had a deep bench and eight different players scored in the game. The Century bench outscored Albert Lea 19-2.

Katy Sherer led Century with 14 points, but 10 of those came in the first half. Lizzie Stenhaug turned in a double-double for the Panthers, scoring 11 points and collecting 10 rebounds.

Rochester Century 59, Albert Lea 50

Rochester Century 35 24 – 59

Albert Lea 19 31 – 50

Rochester Century scoring: Katy Sherer 14, Lizzie Stenhaug 11, Mishawna Lindsey 9, Lindsay Braatz 7, Katie Leidall 6, Emily Hoyer 6, Mallory Cochran 4, Jessica Hazelton 2.

Albert Lea scoring: Abbey Arends 19, Morgan Stadheim 12, Heather Greibrok 7, Alyssa Sager 6, Katie Schou 4, Sarah Wenum 2.