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NATCHEZ — Connor Cauthen scored 12 points and Kentrell Mackel had 11 points to lead a balanced scoring attack for the Cathedral High School Green Wave as they defeated the Franklin Academy Cougars 69-29 last Friday night.

Cauthen and Meckel were two of four players for Cathedral who ended up scoring in double figures. Kaden Batieste and Mason Moore each finished with 10 points. Jake Hairston almost made five players who had double-digit scoring as he contributed with nine points. Jackson Simmons contributed with six points.

MAIS Class 5A Cathedral took control of this game with a dominating performance on both ends of the court. The Green Wave put up 24 points in the first quarter alone while holding Class 3A Franklin Academy to just eight points.

The second quarter was more competitive, but the Green Wave still outscored the Cougars 18-12 to take a 42-20 lead into halftime. The third quarter turned out to be similar to the first quarter as Cathedral scored 19 points while Franklin Academy managed to score just five points to give the Green Wave a commanding 61-25 advantage.

Cathedral (9-3) traveled to Jackson to take on Class 6A powerhouse Jackson Academy Monday night. JA (8-4) is in the midst of a four-game homestand. The Raiders, who finished third in the Class 5A state tournament last season, are also on a two-game winning streak after defeating St. Joseph-Madison 41-29 last Friday night. After that is the MAIS District 3-5A opener on Friday at 7:30 p.m. at cross-town rival Adams County Christian School.

Before taking care of Franklin Academy at home last Friday night, the Green Wave traveled to Centreville and defeated the Centreville Academy Tigers 53-42 last Thursday night.

Cathedral was only up 12-11 on Centreville Academy after one quarter of play before going on a tear over the next two quarters. The Green Wave outscored the Tigers 15-9 in the second quarter and 20-8 in the third quarter for a 47-28 lead.

Even though the Tigers outscored the Green Wave 14-6 in the fourth quarter, the 19-point deficit was too big for the home team to overcome. 

Mason Moore led Cathedral with 15 points while Kaden Batieste had 11 points and Connor Cauthen had eight points.

Cathedral girls 47, Franklin Academy 24

NATCHEZ — Cate Drane had a game-high 15 points and Bella Milligan poured in 12 points as the Cathedral High School Lady Green Wave pulled away for a 47-24 win over the Franklin Academy Lady Cougars last Friday night.

While Lauren Dunbar, one of the Lady Green Wave’s leading scorers, was held to just two points, Milligan picked up the slack in a big way on both ends of the court.

“She played very good defense and rebounded well on offense and defense and was able to put the ball back up and score from that,” Lady Green Wave head coach Bernita Dunbar said.

Cathedral led Franklin Academy 16-11 at the end of the first quarter before its defense allowed the home team to take control of the game over the next two quarters.

“I think our team played very good defense, which allowed us to be able to rebound and allowed us to run our offense and score from it,” Dunbar said.

The Lady Green Wave outscored the Lady Cougars 13-3 in the second quarter for a 29-14 halftime lead and then 14-4 in the third quarter for a 43-18 lead. 

Huddy Lees contributed with six points for Cathedral. Anna Sartin was the leading scorer for Franklin Academy with six points.

The Lady Green Wave won their second straight game and improved to 3-6 overall. They would need that kind of defensive effort on Monday night when they played at the red-hot Jackson Academy Lady Raiders, who are 9-1 overall and on an eight-game winning streak. Last season’s MAIS Class 5A state champions defeated St. Joseph-Madison 51-26 last Friday night.