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RAYMOND — Mackenzie Hankins led Central Hinds Academy with a game-high 26 points as the Lady Cougars pulled away for a 53-35 win over the Cathedral High School Lady Green Wave last Thursday night in MAIS District 3-5A action.

Even though Cathedral was not able to pull out what would have been a huge upset win on the road against Central Hinds Academy, Lady Green Wave head coach Bernita Dunbar said she was pleased with that her team was able to limit the Lady Cougars’ prolific 3-point shooting.

“I’m very proud of the way we played in the first half defensively. We know that Central Hinds is a great shooting team,” Dunbar said. “We played better defense on their 3-point shooting. We played better against them last night than we did last Saturday night (Jan. 22).”

Central Hinds had a slim one-point lead over Cathedral, 14-13, at the end of the first quarter. Then the Lady Cougars put some distance between themselves and the Lady Green Wave with a 17-11 advantage in the second quarter for a 31-24 halftime lead.

Both teams struggled to get shots to fall in the second half, but the Lady Cougars made sure the Lady Green Wave would not have a comeback in them. Central Hinds outscored Cathedral 8-6 in the third quarter and 13-5 in the fourth quarter.

“Offensively, we didn’t shoot the ball terribly. When you go against a team that shoots the ball well, it depends on who’s shooting the ball better,” Dunbar said.

And Hankins was the one player for the Lady Cougars that the Lady Green Wave had no answer for.

“She’s a very good 3-point shooter. When you have a good shooter, shooters will find a way to score,” Dunbar said.

Carmen Moore was the second-leading scorer for Central Hinds with eight points.

Cate Drane finished with 12 points and Bella Milligan added eight points to lead Cathedral in scoring. The Lady Green Wave fell to 8-15 overall, finished at 4-6 in district play and will be the No. 4 seed in the girls’ bracket of the District 3-5A Tournament, which will take place on Saturday, Feb. 1, Friday, Feb. 4 and Saturday, Feb. 5 at Central Hinds Academy.

Central Hinds Academy boys def. Cathedral (Thurs. night)

RAYMOND — The Central Hinds Academy Cougars defeated the Cathedral High School Green Wave last Thursday night in an MAIS District 3-5A game. No other information on the game was available.

The Green Wave (no records available) will next play at the District 3-5A Tournament next week at Central Hinds Academy. Efforts to reach head coach Taylor Strahan for comments and what his team will be seeded for the district tournament were unsuccessful.