BROOKHAVEN &045; Adams Christian set a defensive goal to keep Simpson Academy from scoring more than 40 points.

The Lady Rebels did better than that, holding the Lady Cougars to just 32. Unfortunately, the Adams Christian offense could only manage 30, as the Lady Rebels (25-9) fell 32-30 to Simpson (25-10) in the first round of the MPSA Class AA State Tournament Wednesday night.

The game was tight throughout, with neither team able to take a significant lead. The Lady Rebels led 28-25 when Mattie Geoghegan scored with 6:36 to go in the game to give AC its largest lead in the game.

Simpson responded, scoring four unanswered points to take the lead. Geoghegan scored again to put the Lady Rebels ahead at 30-29 with 3:21 left. But the Lady Cougars were too much. They scored the final three points of the game.

AC went to the free throw line three times in the final 47 seconds, but missed all of their attempts, ending their shot at winning. The Lady Rebels were just one-for-eight from the free-throw line and didn’t even attempt a free throw in the first half.

&uot;It was just missed free throws and layups,&uot; AC head John Gray said. &uot;Our defense played so well, but the offense didn’t really play well, especially early.&uot;

Geoghegan led AC with 12 points. Kate Hubbard led Simpson with 12.

Gray said it was probably his last game as coach of the team.

&uot;It is not in my plans to coach next year,&uot; Gray said. &uot;You can put that in bold letters.&uot;

With most of the key players coming back next year, the Lady Rebels may be just beginning their success in the postseason.

&uot;I think they have a lot of potential,&uot; Gray said. &uot;If they work on their game, they can get so much better as individuals and as a team.&uot;

Winston Academy 71, Trinity 44

BROOKHAVEN &045; Trinity simply ran into a better team, Saints head coach David King said.

&uot;Honestly we didn’t belong here,&uot; King said. &uot;But we were here. We were just outmanned by a team of five seniors, but we would have been outmanned by anyone here.&uot;

Winston Academy (27-3) wasted little time in putting away the Saints (18-15) in the first round of the MPSA Class AA Tournament, taking a 39-19 advantage into halftime and never leading by fewer than 15 points in the second half.

&uot;I thought Trinity came out a little cold,&uot; Winston coach Farrell Rigby said. &uot;They played us even in the third quarter, but we were already up.&uot;

Trinity did appear to play better in the second half, when the Saints were outscored by just seven points.

Stevan Ridley led Trinity with 11 points, the only Saint in double figures.

King said he liked the challenge of coaching this team, which was less talented than some he’s had.

&uot;I’d rather have tough guys who overachieve than have great players,&uot; King said.

Winona Christian 63, WCCA 38

MARKS &045; Winona Christian was as good as advertised, and it took the Rams a little time to realize they are not a bad team, either.

Winona flexed its muscles in the first half by taking a 17-2 lead by the end of the first quarter and 38-8 lead at the break to blow the game open. The Rams then made some adjustments and were more competitive in the second half, holding a 14-6 edge in the fourth quarter.

Winona held a 19-16 edge in the third to lead 57-24 heading into the fourth.

&uot;They were a very good team, and we knew that coming in,&uot; WCCA head coach Ray Olive said. &uot;We played extremely tentative in the early going. We weren’t aggressive, they took the ball to us and we made mistakes.

&uot;At half we made a decision to take it to them in the second half. Although we lost the game, we accomplished that in the second half. It’s a shame we didn’t play like that in the first half.&uot;

Greg Garner led the Rams (16-15) with 14 points. Harley Matthews led Winona with 22.

Winona Christian will play University Christian Prep in a second-round game today.