By By SCOTT COOPER – Sports Writer
With a dominating 61-22 win at home over the Flomaton Lady Hurricanes on Feb. 4, the T.R. Miller Lady Tigers ended the regular season with a 20-4 mark and primed themselves for a strong postseason run.
The Lady Tigers, owners of the No. 8 ranking among Class 3A teams, take the first step in defending their state championship crown on Tuesday, Feb. 11 when they will meet Clarke County for the Area 1 championship at T.R. Miller High School. The girls' regular season record earned them a bye through the first round of the tourney.
Against the Lady Hurricanes, Miller forced 36 turnovers and built a 20-point halftime lead before cruising through the final two quarters to victory.
Beginning the contest with their feared full-court pressure defense, the Lady Tigers recorded steal after steal while completely disrupting Flomaton's attempts to get into an offensive rhythm. After leading 18-4 at the end of the opening quarter, Miller outscored Flomaton 16-10 in the second period to enter the halftime break with a comfortable 34-14 advantage.
A 17-2 Lady Tigers' run over the course of the third quarter completely put the game out of reach. Led by KeonShaye Lane, Ashley Samuel and Jasmine Sanford, Miller went on an 11-2 run to start the period. Then, Brittnee Malloyd and Akia Suarez paced a 6-0 quarter-ending run that lifted the Lady Tigers to a 51-16 lead heading to the final eight minutes of the game.
The Miller coaching staff substituted freely in the fourth quarter; however, the younger and less experienced Lady Tigers accounted for themselves very well by outscoring Flomaton 10-6 to polish off a 39-point Miller win.
Ashley Samuel led the Lady Tigers with 22 points while Brittnee Malloyd followed closely behind with 17 points.