NATCHEZ — Trinity Episcopal Day School girls head basketball coach Fay Minor said she was worried about the team’s matchup Saturday with Silliman, especially after what she called a “not so pretty” win Friday night.

“We haven’t played well in the past two games,” Minor said. “I saw it coming for this game today.”

Silliman led by just two after the first quarter, but would dominate the rest of the way, putting away the Lady Saints 57-35.

The Lady Wildcats took over in the second quarter, outscoring Trinity 18-2. And although Trinity was getting a good amount of looks at the basket, the ball refused to go in.

“We were cold,” Minor said. “They have the saying, ‘You live by the three, you die by the three,’ and we were dying by it.”

The Lady Saints put up a fight in the second half, but the deficit was simply too big to overcome.

“I was proud of the effort they gave in the fourth quarter, giving it their all,” Minor said.

D’Asia Mitchell led Trinity with 17 points and Sloane Young added nine, but fouled out in the third quarter, putting the Lady Saints at an even bigger disadvantage.

Center Dionna Jackson had seven points, but Minor said Silliman did a good job limiting what she could do.

“Their inside game, they played Dionna really well and she seemed like she was playing tired, too,” Minor said.

Trinity will have a short break before they head to the Brookhaven Academy tournament after Christmas, and Minor said it could be the perfect time for the Lady Saints to regroup.

“I’m thinking maybe this little break is what they need,” she said. “Lets get some days off and then go back at it in the Brookhaven tournament.”

Silliman Institute 68, Trinity 40

NATCHEZ — After a low scoring first quarter that saw Trinity build a small 8-6 lead, the Silliman Institute Wildcats turned up their game, running away with a 68-40 victory.

“Our shots were definitely not falling tonight and that killed our focus,” Trinity head coach Chris Bunio said. “They couldn’t concentrate on anything. It was tough to see them struggle through that, but it is something we’ll have to get after during practice and improve on.”

Silliman outscored the Saints, 41-16 in the second and third quarters to build a commanding lead; one the Saints wouldn’t really threaten to take back.

Six-foot-8 Wildcat center Keith Atkins, who scored 15 points and guard JC Crain, who added 17, paced the Silliman offense.

“We did a much better job last time we played them, when we beat them,” Bunio said. “This time around, they were shooting much better from outside the arc and their big man exploited our lane players better.”

Kevontaye Caston was the leading scorer for Trinity with 23 points, but no other Saint was in double-figures.

Bunio said he wants to keep his team focused, though, on what is important — district play.

“I want them to keep their heads up and use this as an experience for district play,” he said. “Games like this really don’t matter in the long run, so use it for the experience.”