By By Adam Robinson – Sports Editor
T.R. Miller Lady Tiger head coach Ron Jackson has always preached defense to his teams. The Lady Tigers chant defense after made free throws during pregame warm-ups and chant it after team huddles and timeouts.
Consider the Lady Tigers' 70-39 win over Choctaw County Thursday night in Brewton in the first round of the class 3A area one tournament an exhibit of that strong defense.
Just 1:28 into the game Thursday, the Lady Tigers did not allow Choctaw County to get past half court and picked up steal after steal to claim an early 12-0 lead at the 6:32 mark of the first quarter.
From there, the press defense continued and they Lady Tigers held a 22-0 lead at the 2:40 mark before Choctaw County scored their first points of the night at the 1:51 mark in the first quarter-6:09 without a basket to open the game.
The Lady Tigers held a 26-3 lead at the first quarter and a 42-7 lead at the half and used runs of 14-0 twice in the game to claim the big win and outscored Choctaw County 20-6 in the second quarter as they cruised to their 13th straight win and improved to 20-2 overall and one win away from another area championship.
The win guaranteed the team a spot in the sub-regional round. The Lady Tigers were set to play Bayside Academy Saturday night after the Admirals defeated Cottage Hill 47-36 in the other area game. The score was not known at press time, but the outcome determines where the Lady Tigers play next.
“We did a good job tonight,” coach Jackson said Thursday. “I have been waiting on that for a long time. The way they came out and played together and were focused. We played good defense and really did a good job. This was a big win for us. The kids went out and played good defense tonight. That was the best all year and that is the kind of defense that we need to play to do well in the tournaments. This tournament is about as big as it gets. We are just happy they stepped it up and did the little things we worked on.”
All but two Lady Tigers 14 players scored in the 31-point win.
Kesha Peterson led the Lady Tigers with 15 points in the win and Zykeya Barton followed with 10 points.
Shaniqua Kiser added eight points and Nakiya Smith chipped in seven points. MyNetra Boley and Keydra Shedrone added six points each and Janel McCorvey added five points.
Catherine Green had four points and Leah Brundidge had three points. Ashley Williams added two points along with Desiree Gibbs along with Brittany Rush.
The Lady Tigers grabbed a 22-0 early lead and held Choctaw County to just three points in the first quarter and ended the quarter on a 4-0 run to hold a 26-3 lead.
The Lady Tigers continued on their run in the second quarter and made it a 14-0 run as they claimed a 36-3 lead with 5:06 left to play before the half.
Choctaw County then got their first four points of the second quarter on back-to-back plays to cut the lead to 36-7, but the Lady Tigers grabbed a 42-7 lead and held a 46-9 lead at the half.
In the third quarter, the Lady Tigers were outscored 16-8 to cut the lead to 54-25, but benefited from a 14-0 run to start the fourth quarter to hold a 68-25 lead with just under four minutes to play as they cruised to a 70-39 win.
Choctaw County ended the game on a 9-0 run to close the game from 70-30 to 70-39.
If T.R. Miller won on Saturday, they will host the Area 2 runner-up.
That game was to be decided between Geneva and Slocomb.
If T.R. Miller wins, they will host the loser, and if T.R. Miller loses the area championship game to Bayside, they will travel to the Geneva-Slocomb winner.