By By BRUCE HIXON Sports Editor
His team had just allowed 12 points and shut out its opponent in two of the four quarters. It forced 27 turnovers and held the opposing team to just 13 field goal attempts in the first three quarters.
Yet T.R. Miller Lady Tigers coach Ron Jackson issued a surprise stern warning about his team after Thursday's 63-12 victory over the W.S. Neal Lady Blue Eagles in the opening round of the Class 3A Area 1 Tournament held in Brewton.
Even though his squad entered the postseason with a 25-1 record, a 13-game winning streak and three regular season wins over W.S. Neal, Jackson said none of that mattered headed into Thursday's postseason opener.
T.R. Miller made quick work of the Lady Eagles when it ran out to an 18-0 lead to start the game. Sixteen of those points came in the opening frame when W.S. Neal committed 10 turnovers and attempted just two shots.
All 16 of those points came courtesy of Joy McCorvey, Jasmine Sanford and Keonshaye Lane, who accounted for 55 of T.R. Miller's 63 points.
Sanford was the biggest thorn for W.S. Neal in that stretch with a fastbreak layup off a steal, a shot from the corner and two more field goals from within the lane.
W.S. Neal did not get on the scoreboard until two minutes into the second quarter when Carolyn Marshall drove inside the lane for a field goal.
Although its shutout string ended, T.R. Miller continued to add to its lead in the second quarter. It reached 20 points when a fastbreak basket by Krystle Smith, who returned to action after a three-game absence, made it 22-2. Two free throws by Sanford in the final minute of the half gave the Lady Tigers their halftime lead of 30-6.
The last three points T.R. Miller scored in the first half began a 28-0 tear the Lady Tigers would compile over the next 12 and a half minutes.
A steal and layup by Sanford capped off that stretch that made it 55-6 with six minutes left in the fourth quarter. Back-to-back baskets by Jessica Smith finally ended that long run and got the Lady Blue Eagles into double digits.
Lane led the Lady Tigers with 20 points, her fourth straight 20-point output. Prior to that she had one 20-point game all season.
While T.R. Miller advanced to Saturday's championship game against Clarke County, W.S. Neal limped across the finish line with a 4-20 record under the direction of first-year coach Angela Carr. The Lady Blue Eagles lost their last 15 games and 20 of 21 after they started the season 3-0.
At T.R. Miller
W.S. Neal 0 6 0 6 – 12
T.R. Miller 16 14 17 16 – 63
W.S. NEAL (2FG-3FG-FT-TP) Marshall 2-0-2-6; Smith 2-0-0-4; Floyd 1-0-0-2 (Totals: 5-0-2-12)
T.R. MILLER (2FG-3FG-FT-TP) Lane 4-3-3-20; McCorvey 8-0-2-18; Sanford 7-0-3-17; Smith 1-0-1-3; Grice 1-0-0-2; Reed 1-0-0-2; Peterson 0-0-1-1 (Totals: 22-3-10-12)