By By James Crawford
News Editor
The Escambia County Lady Blue Devils ran out of steam Saturday night, losing 58-26 to the T.R. Miller Lady Tigers in a tough fought contest that closed out the final round of the ladies division of the Escambia County High School Basketball Tournament, held Thursday, Friday and Saturday night in Brewton.
The hosting Lady Tigers exploded in the first quarter against ECHS, outgunning them in size and speed. The Lady Blue Devils struggled throughout to find a workable combination, trailing 18-7 at the end of the first quarter. They didn't fare any better in the second quarter, falling to a deeper deficit of 30-11 heading into halftime.
"It was a tough contest. Though we played much better this time around against them. We are getting better against the press, which they play very well," ECHS head coach Andre Hodges said. "We're doing better each time."
Ashley Kidd, leading scorer for the Lady Devil's, finished the night with eight points, followed up by Tanika Lett, who added six of her own to help Escambia keep a hand in the game, but the Lady Tigers methodically picked away passes and rebounds, virtually shutting the door on any hope of a come from behind effort in the third.
"It was a good ballgame. We had some good spurts," T.R. Miller head coach Ron Jackson said. "We did make a lot of mistakes, but it was good for our second team to get out there and play some."
Escambia had breakout play from several ladies despite the size disadvantage, including Makeyia Burt. Burt dropped in one from the line with 4:50 left in the third quarter and followed it up with a steal and a quick two points to give the ECHS a breath of life, but it was short-lived. The Lady Tigers responded with three-pointer deep from the top of the circle, from Keya Peterson to shut the door on the drive.
The Lady Blue Devils kept battling in the fourth quarter, answering Miller basket for basket until the last few seconds when the Lady Tigers scored back to back goals to end the contest.
Tanika Lett was named Most Valuable Player in the tournament for Escambia.