By By Matthew Nascone
The Escambia County Lady Blue Devils have not lost a game in the month of January and they are riding a six game winning streak after losing in the Light It Up Classic in Mobile Dec. 29.
In this winning streak the Lady Devils (18-5, 4-0) have gone undefeated in area play, moved to No. 6 in the Alabama Sports Writers Association poll and blown through all opponents in their way. The latest victim came last Tuesday on the road against area rival Thomasville. ECHS easily dispatched of Citronelle, 53-34.
"We came out with a really good mentality," ECHS head coach Todd Reynolds said. "And we had a balanced attack."
After the Lady Devils narrowly defeated Thomasville Jan. 5 in Atmore, Reynolds stated that it would be a war when the Lady Devils traveled to Thomasville, but he said the game did not live up to his expectations.
"The war never materialized," Reynolds said. "We controlled the game even though we only had a 19-17 lead at halftime."
That halftime lead swelled into a 35-20 advantage after the third quarter and Reynolds said the effort in the game was some of the best basketball he has seen all year.
"We played lights out basketball and that was by far our most balanced game of the season," he said.
Reynolds said the play of ECHS center Jasmine Sanders was outstanding.
"I was especially proud of how Jasmine played because she got two fouls called on her early in the first quarter and it was amazing how she didn't let them faze her," Reynolds said. "And my guards also stepped up and shot the ball well. We started the season getting the ball inside a lot, but now I expect them (the guards) to take their own shot if it is there."
Sanders led the way with 15 points and 17 rebounds. Courtney English added 18 points and eight steals and Ashanti Jones contributed 10 points and seven assists.
Yesterday and tomorrow match up the Lady Devils with possible sub-regional opponents in Hillcrest and T.R. Miller, respectively. Reynolds said the girls need to play well against those teams to see how they will fare in the playoffs.
Tipoff for the T.R. Miller game is at 4:45 p.m. in the Atmore gymnasium.