T.R. Miller stages huge rally to eliminate UMS-Wright girls, 41-34

 

 

By JIMMY WIGFIELD

MONTGOMERY — In his first season at UMS-Wright, coach Terry Canova took his girls team to Brewton and broke T.R. Miller’s 56-game home winning streak, although he was blissfully unaware of the feat.

“I had no idea at the time,” Canova said. “It’s probably a good thing or we’d have had that pressure.”

In Monday’s Class 4A South Regional semifinal, Canova’s team was on the cusp of another monumental victory over the Tigers, building a 16-point lead in the second period and heading toward a victory that would have retired legendary Miller coach Ronald Jackson.

But Jackson — who has won five state championships and more than 1,000 games in his 41-year career — made sure Canova and the Bulldogs knew all about pressure this time.

The Tigers turned to a full-court press, snatched 13 steals, forced 22 turnovers and rallied to beat No. 9-ranked UMS-Wright 41-34 at Garrett Coliseum.

Meg Fountain’s 3-pointer from the right wing gave Miller the lead for good at 35-32 with 2:10 to go and the Tigers made 6 of 10 free throws in the final 1:54.

The Bulldogs led for 26:13 of the 32 minutes. Miller (22-4) led when it counted most.

“I closed my eyes most of the time,” Jackson joked afterward. “This is a fighting little team. We’re not as big as we need to be. We’re lucky to get out of this one. It was a tough game. (UMS-Wright) is well-disciplined. We just played hard. We tried some full-court pressure and they got a little tired and we’re in great shape.”

Fountain scored a game-high 17 points, including a pair of 3-pointers.

“We ran out of gas a little,” said Canova, whose team had won 11 of its last 12 games coming in and finished 25-8. “They pressured the ball really well and wore us down. And (Fountain) rose to the occasion and made some big-time plays.”

The Bulldogs made 5 of 15 field goals on the way to a 15-2 first-period lead but made just five more field goals the rest of the way. They were 0 of 9 in the fourth period and got outscored 19-12 off turnovers.

“I knew at some point they would make a run,” Canova said. “Coach Jackson is a legend over there and today he did a tremendous job. They never quit and even when we were up big, they never let us get that knockout blow.”

Freshman 6-3 post player Jadin Curry came off the bench to grab 6 rebounds and shore up the Tigers’ interior defense, although UMS-Wright outrebounded Miller 35-26.

“She’s going to be a good one,” Jackson said.

Ellie Mostellar scored 12 points and Noel Freeman 10 for the Bulldogs, who lose three starters.

“We’ll put the pieces back together,” Canova said.

Meanwhile, the big comeback didn’t change Jackson’s mind about retiring.

“Going through this kind of pressure is not good for your heart,” he said.