Tuesday night’s contest against the T.R. Miller Lady Tigers proved to be too tough to handle for the short-handed Escambia County Lady Blue Devils.

Missing two starters and a contributor off of the bench, the Lady Blue Devils were defeated 59-22 by their rivals.

The Lady Blue Devils (3-2, 0-0) hung with the Lady Tigers as much as they could despite missing important players, but could not put enough points on the scoreboard to keep the game close.

Miller controlled the game from the opening tip as they scored a barrage of points on ECHS jumping out to a comfortable 18-7 lead in the first quarter.

Miller continued to rain points down on the scoreboard in the second period as they extended their lead and pushed out to a 19-point lead before halftime leading 33-14.

After halftime, nothing changed as the Lady Blue Devils defense could not stop the Lady Tigers from scoring at will.

In the third quarter, the Lady Tigers outscored the Lady Blue Devils 11-4 to push further ahead leading 44-18 when the buzzer ended the period.

With a 26-point lead in the fourth quarter, Miller again pounded down the court on offense scoring 15 more points and holding ECHS to four leaving the Lady Blue Devils with a 59-22 loss.

Lady Blue Devil Diamond Williams was the leading scorer for ECHS as she scored nine points. She also recorded two rebounds.

Brianna Martin was the leading rebounder for the Lady Blue Devils as she pulled down four and also scored five points.

Jasmine Ireland added four points to go along with two steals and an assist, while Bianca Dailey and Shykethia Crenshaw each scored two points. Dailey also had one rebound with Crenshaw recording one rebound and one assist.

Lady Devils 51

Lady Jaguars 47

Escambia County’s Lady Blue Devils improved their record to 3-1 over the holiday weekend as they defeated the Hillcrest Lady Jaguars 51-47 in Evergreen on Saturday.

The Lady Blue Devils (3-1, 0-0) led for the entire contest, but had to hold off the Lady Jaguars from mounting a comeback in the fourth quarter.

Lady Blue Devils head coach Lorenzo Jones said his team made progress in their win against Hillcrest.

“We made some progress in this one,” Jones said. “We improved at the free throw line and we made our layups. We also made some adjustments from the first time we played them and it worked out. Our girls played hard all night and remained focused down the stretch.”

In the first quarter, the teams played close with the Lady Blue Devils finding the advantage as they jumped out to a 15-14 lead.

They continued to lead throughout the second quarter and into halftime as they outscored the Lady Jaguars 17-15 to lead 32-29 at the break.

After the half, the Lady Blue Devils continued to pour on points as they outscored the Lady Jaguars 12-8 in the third quarter and took a 44-37 lead into the final quarter.

In the final quarter, the Lady Jaguars chipped away at the ECHS lead, but were unable to overcome the deficit as they outscored ECHS 10-7, but still fell 51-47.

Lady Blue Devils Diamond Williams and Jasmine Ireland led ECHS with 11 points apiece. Williams finished the game with seven rebounds, five assists and five steals, while Ireland recorded eight steals, four assists and three rebounds.

Brianna Martin finished the win with nine points, five rebounds, two assists and two steals.

Shykethia Crenshaw and Cha’Nae Lyles each scored six points, while Jasmine McGinnis scored four for ECHS.

Crenshaw also pulled down two rebounds, while Lyles recorded three steals, one assist and one rebound. McGinnis finished with nine rebounds, two assists and a steal.

Jones said he hopes his team continues to improve as the season progresses.

“We hope to continue to improve as the season continues,” he said. “Our bench did a good job and we are real proud of our girls.”