By By Chandler Myers
A trip to Vigor for the area tournament ended sooner than the Escambia County Lady Blue Devils had hoped after a 54-42 loss to the Spanish Fort Lady Toros on Thursday night.
The Lady Blue Devils (15-11, 3-4) fell to the Lady Toros for the second time this season on the road after picking up a 46-33 win over their area foe on Jan. 20.
Lady Blue Devils head coach Ray Greer said it was a hard loss that ended a tough season in ECHS’s return to Class 5A.
In the first quarter, the Lady Blue Devils fell behind, and would never see a lead. ECHS started the game with seven points, while the Lady Toros pulled ahead with 10 of their own.
The Lady Toros continued their run in the second quarter as they put 14 more points on the scoreboard. The Lady Blue Devils made it into double-digits in the second period and scored 10 points, but at halftime they trailed Spanish Fort 24-17.
Greer said the Lady Toros were a well-disciplined team that came ready to play from the start.
After halftime, ECHS could not stop the Lady Toros. Nineteen third quarter points sealed the fate for the Lady Blue Devils as they again only scored 10, and entered the final quarter trailing 43-27.
In final quarter, the Lady Blue Devils were able to cut into the lead that the Lady Toros had mounted by scoring 15 points, and only allowing Spanish Fort to score 11.
The late charge was not enough for ECHS as the final buzzer sounded with the score 54-42 in favor of Spanish Fort.
Greer said not making it to the championship and next round of playoffs was disappointing.
Lady Blue Devils seniors Latesha Lee and Courtney English paced the team with 13 points each in the loss. Lee scored her 13 points by hitting three three-pointers and two two-point field goals. English shot 5-for-5 from the field and 3-of-6 from the free throw line for her points.
ECHS senior center Brittany Martin added six points and shot 3-for-3 from the field.
Senior Tiarra Ankum and junior Jodeci Craft chipped in three points apiece for the Lady Blue Devils. Ankum scored her points by shooting 1-for-1 from three-point range, while Craft hit a shot from the field and shot 1-of-2 from the charity stripe.
Lady Blue Devils senior Megan Hartley and sophomore Jordan Jaye scored two points each in the loss.