By By Matthew Nascone
On Saturday, in Brewton, the Escambia County Lady Blue Devils accomplished something they have never accomplished before.
They walked away from Brewton with the Escambia County Bank of Flomaton County Tournament trophy in tow. The trophy was their prize for beating the T.R. Miller Lady Tigers on their home floor to gain a perfect 3-0 record in the tournament. And ECHS head coach Todd Reynolds had three simple words to sum it up.
"We got 'em," Reynolds said.
These three simple words were mixed together with the ear-to-ear grin on every Lady Blue Devil fan's face to form quite a celebration for the Lady Blue Devils.
The county tournament began in 2001, and the Lady Devils can now say they know how it feels to have that trophy in their case in Atmore. And Reynolds understands this significance.
"This game was very important for us," he said. "Not only was it a win over a rival, it was a quality win and we broke the streak of victories they had here."
And ECHS boys' head coach Jerome Antone was proud of the way the girls played as well.
"What these girls are doing this year is fantastic," Antone said. "I knew they would be something special this year after how they finished the year last year and who they had coming back. And with the addition of coach Reynolds and his no-nonsense attitude, these girls are not done yet. I am very happy for the success they had in the tournament."
But it was not smooth sailing for the Lady Blue Devils (10-3) in the early going of the game against Miller, as they were trailing 18-16 at the half.
"We had a gut check in the locker room for halftime," Reynolds said. "T.R. Miller won the first half by far. And I made them sit in silence for about five minutes. I knew we had the weapons offensively to win the game, but we had to break the mystique of it being Miller. And I challenged the seniors to go out a winner. And that is what they did."
Those offensive weapons came in the form of seniors Jasmine Sanders Ashley Kidd and sophomore Courtney English. Sanders led the way with 16 points, 12 rebounds and four steals. English had 15 points and 10 rebounds and Kidd had 12 points and seven rebounds.
Sanders eventually won the Tournament Most Valuable Player, compiling 36 points, 33 rebounds, 12 steals and five blocked shots for the tournament.
Kidd, English and senior Ashanti Jones made the all-tournament team. Jones piled up 20 steals, 10 rebounds and 10 assists for the tournament. English added 47 points, 13 rebounds and 10 steals. Kidd only played in the finale against Miller because of a hurt foot, but compiled 12 points, seven rebounds, three steals and one blocked shot.
Lady Blue Devils 54 – Flomaton 15
The Lady Blue Devils dispatched of the Lady Hurricanes from Flomaton quickly with a 54-15 trouncing Friday night.
Anushka Banks led the way with 24 points. Courtney English added 15 points, Jasmine Sanders contributed 13 points, Ashanti Jones scored 10 points, Latesha Lee had six points, Megan Hartley added four points and Titieanna Jennings added two points.
The Lady Devils will participate in the McGill-Toolen Invitational Dec. 27-30.