By By BRUCE HIXON Sports Editor
While basketball is a game of five-on-five, five players alone are usually not sufficient, at least at the high school level.
A winless Northview (Fla.) Lady Chiefs squad figured to have its hands full against the T.R. Miller Lady Tigers Saturday even at full strength. When another activity caused Northview to have just five players available, that changed the Lady Chiefs' odds from long to virtually impossible.
It did not take long for the Lady Tigers to wear down their visitors, as they won their sixth straight decision 71-9. The margin of victory for T.R Miller (8-1) in its eight wins grew to 37.5 points a game.
Two tones for the game were set in the first two minutes. For starters, T.R. Miller built a 10-0 lead and forced the Lady Chiefs into four turnovers.
The other tone was set by sophomore Jasmine Sanford. Sanford accounted for eight of those points with three fastbreak buckets and another hoop from near the free throw line. It was just the start of Sanford's best night of the season, as she wound up with 18 points.
As soon as Northview's Alexia White snapped T.R. Miller's initial 10-0 run with a field goal, the Lady Tigers promptly went on a 13-0 blitz to extend their cushion to 23-2.
This time it was senior Ashley Samuel's turn to light the fire. Samuel, who had a game high 26 points, nailed a three-pointer from the wing, added another bucket from inside and scored on a fastbreak after a steal by Joy McCorvey.
McCorvey also played a role in the first quarter outburst with a pair of assists, two steals for layups and another hoop off an offensive rebound. Her last bucket gave T.R. Miller a 25-4 lead at the end of the quarter.
The Lady Tigers' defense was just as effective, as it forced the Lady Chiefs into 11 turnovers in the first quarter, 16 in the first half and 21 for the game.
By mutual consent, a running clock was activated once T.R. Miller's lead reached 30 points. That occurred before the second quarter reached the midway point when a steal by Keonshaye Lane led to a layup for Samuel and a 37-6 lead. That cushion stood at 43-8 by halftime thanks to 15 points by Samuel and 14 more by Sanford.
Northview (0-12) did not make a field goal over the last 19
See LADY TIGERS Page 6A
minutes and scored just one free throw during that span. In fact, White was the lone Lady Chiefs player to score in the entire game.
During Northview's dry spell, T.R. Miller went on a 30-0 run. That included an 18-0 stretch during the third quarter that featured a three-point play by Samuel, a three-pointer by Lane and fastbreak field goals by Krystal Smith and Emily Layton. Layton's bucket just before the third quarter ended increased T.R. Miller's lead to 61-8.
In the fourth quarter, a pair of baskets by Samuel plus hoops by Lane and Sanford made it 69-8 before a free throw by White with 1:26 left ended T.R. Miller's long run.
The Lady Tigers will be idle until Saturday when they open up play at the Pensacola Catholic Tournament against Gulf Breeze (Fla.) at 2:30 p.m.
If T.R. Miller wins its opener, it will play Monday at 5:30 p.m. If the Lady Tigers lose Saturday, they will play Monday at 2:30 p.m.
At T.R. Miller
Northview 4 4 0 1 – 9
T.R. Miller 25 18 18 10 – 71
NORTHVIEW (2FG-3FG-FT-TP) White 3-0-3-9 (Totals: 3-0-3-9)
T.R. MILLER (2FG-3FG-FT-TP) Samuel 11-1-1-26; Sanford 8-0-2-18; McCorvey 4-0-0-8; Lane 2-1-0-7; Smith 3-0-0-6; Herbert 1-0-0-2; Walker 1-0-0-2; Layton 1-0-0-2 (Totals: 31-2-3-71)