By By BRUCE HIXON Sports Editor
During the first half of the season, the T.R. Miller Lady Tigers did not get a lot of production from their bench. That has changed in the second half of the campaign.
T.R. Miller got a season high 20 points from its bench personnel, as the Lady Tigers smashed the visiting Red Level Lady Tigers 83-22 Saturday.
"We're going to need a good bench as we go deeper and deeper into the playoffs. They picked up a lot of valauble minutes in this game and they produced pretty well. They've gotten a lot better since the start of the season," T.R. Miller coach Ron Jackson said.
T.R. Miller (22-2 and winners of 11 straight) took advantage of a Red Level team that has more grade school players on its roster (nine) than high school players (six). Needless to say the host Lady Tigers, ranked second in the state in Class 3A, wasted no time in dismantling their foe.
T.R. Miller already had a 10-0 lead by the time the game was two minutes old thanks to two hoops by Krystle Smith and Jasmine Sanford plus a field goal by Ashley Samuel.
That lead surpassed 20 points before the first quarter was six minutes old when a three-pointer by Sanford off a steal by Joy McCorvey made it 23-2. A steal and layup by Samuel in the waning moments of the first quarter made it 29-2.
A steal and layup by Samuel made it 46-3 with nearly five minutes left in the first half. Megan Clifton's shot from the wing with five seconds left in the half gave T.R. Miller its biggest lead up to that point at 55-9.
With a running clock in place for the second half, the host Lady Tigers scheduled an unofficial "Three-Point Shot" competition. Twenty-one of T.R. Miller's 28 second half points came courtesy of seven three-pointers.
Keonshaye Lane and Ashley Herbert drained treys in the third quarter, as the Lady Tigers maintained their 46-point margin of cushion at 67-21.
T.R. Miller hit five from behind the arc in the fourth quarter, one each from Lane and McCorvey and three straight by Samuel, who finished with a game high 28 points. It marked the 10th time this season Samuel has outscored the opposing team.
T.R. Miller, which played at Flomaton Tuesday, visits Monroe County Friday.
At T.R. Miller
Red Level 3 6 12 1 – 22
T.R. Miller 29 26 12 16 – 83
RED LEVL (2FG-3FG-FT-TP) J. Calloway 1-2-1-9; Crawford 2-0-0-4; C. Calloway 2-0-0-4; Franklin 1-0-0-2; A. Calloway 1-0-0-2; Lagault 0-0-1-1 (Totals: 7-2-2-22)
T.R. MILLER (2FG-3FG-FT-TP) Samuel 8-4-0-28; McCorvey 5-1-0-13; Sanford 3-1-1-10; Smith 3-0-0-6; Walker 3-0-0-6; Layton 3-0-0-6; Lane 0-2-0-6; Herbert 0-1-0-3; Fountain 1-0-0-2; Clifton 1-0-0-2; Nettles 0-0-1-1 (Totals: 27-9-2-83)