By By SCOTT COOPER – Sports Writer
The T.R. Miller Lady Tigers picked-up where they left off last season as they hosted the Escambia County Lady Devils November 26 and thoroughly dominated the action in a 55-8 victory.
With the defensive prowess they exhibited during last year's state championship season, the Lady Tigers kept the Escambia County offense under wraps the entire contest and held a 28-2 lead at the halftime break. While the defense made things difficult for the Lady Devils, Miller's offense started slowly before finding its groove and getting stronger as the game wore on.
As the game began, Miller's Joy McCorvery
was fouled while scoring a basket on a putback and then added the free throw to give the Lady Tigers a 3-0 lead with 7:21 remaining in the opening quarter.
Neither team scored over the next four minutes of the game. The Lady Tigers were unable to get into an offensive rhythm and the Lady Devil defensive efforts contributed to the slow start. But with 3:15 left in the quarter, Ashley Samuel scored two points to give the Lady Tigers a 5-0 lead. A KeonShaye Lane jumper from the corner stretched the advantage to 7-0 before an Escambia County basket made the score 7-2. Baskets by Jasmine Sanford and Brittnee Malloyd closed out the first quarter and gave Miller an 11-2 lead.
As the second quarter unfolded, Miller's Samuel began to take control on the offensive end. Four straight Samuel baskets to begin the period gave the Lady Tigers a 19-2 lead with 4:40 left before halftime. A short jump shot by Lane made the score 21-2 before another two points from Samuel cushioned the lead to 23-2. A Sanford basket coupled with four consecutive Samuel points to end the half gave the Lady Tigers a 28-2 lead at intermission.
The Lady Tigers kept the pressure on the visitors in the third quarter. While the Miller defense would not allow the Lady Devils to get into any sort of offensive flow, the Lady Tigers scored points almost at will with their transition game. Heading into the fourth quarter, the Lady Tigers' lead stood at 51-5.
Having built an insurmountable advantage, the Miller coaching staff substituted freely in the final period. The Lady Tigers' younger players held their own in the quarter, outscoring Escambia County, 4-3, while putting the finishing touches on an impressive 55-8 win.
Ashley Samuel and Joy McCorvey led the Lady Tigers' offensive efforts, scoring 23 and 15 points, respectively.