NATCHEZ &045; Maybe the atmosphere rattled Adams Christian, or maybe it was the Trinity defense.

With a packed house at Bob Ulmer Gym, split equally between fans of the two Natchez teams for a South State semifinal game between the city’s two MPSA programs, it wasn’t just any game.

The Lady Rebels came away with a 40-26 win to get into the Class AA South State championship.

&uot;We were nervous playing against Trinity, the cross-town team,&uot; AC’s Arianna DeLaSalle said. &uot;I liked it, but it was nerve-wracking.&uot;

For most of three quarters, Trinity held strong against the Lady Rebels (25-7), holding the AC offense down and hitting enough shots to hold a 20-18 lead with 59.4 seconds remaining in the game.

The Lady Rebels finally held on, but it took a fourth quarter surge spearheaded by the play of Katie Ann Swinny to get the win.

&uot;That was a toughie,&uot; Trinity coach Melanie Hall said. &uot;I am heartsick for the girls because they wanted it so bad and worked so hard. We were right there at 20-22, then we had a couple of miscues that they capitalized on.&uot;

For most of the game, Trinity threw the Lady Rebels’ offense for a loop, employing a zone defense in addition to its usual man-to-man.

&uot;The zone hurt us. We weren’t expecting that,&uot; DeLaSalle said. &uot;They double-teamed the post a lot, too.&uot;

That and simply the defensive intensity the Lady Saints showed throughout the game confounded the AC offense, which scored just 13 points in the first half.

After halftime, the Lady Rebels offense came alive. With point guard Brittany Gamberi playing limited minutes because of foul trouble, the Lady Rebels turned to Swinny, who got two tough baskets and hit four of six free throws in the fourth quarter.

She led all scorers with 16 points, 11 of them in a fourth quarter in which Adams Christian outscored the Lady Saints 18-6.

AC’s post players DeLaSalle and Mattie Geoghegan also stepped up late, combining for 10 points in the second half. The two combined on one play, with DeLaSalle feeding Geoghegan the ball at the basket after DeLaSalle was double-teamed.

&uot;It wasn’t a set play. That’s just something between us,&uot; Geoghegan said.

The Lady Rebels again relied on their defense to get them past Trinity. On defense, they played well, generally containing Trinity’s leading scorer Mallory Archer and working trying to prevent the Lady Saints from getting open shots.

&uot;They keyed on our shooters, but I thought we handled it well,&uot; Hall said. &uot;We were prepared for it. We weren’t surprised by anything they did.&uot;

When Archer went to the post, the AC defense generally had one player behind her and doubled down on her with another player.

&uot;We were doubling down everywhere they could double,&uot; Gray said.

Archer had success later in the game by taking the ball above the 3-point line, spreading the Lady Rebel defense out and driving to the hole.

&uot;We kept one girl at the goal in case she drove, which she did a lot,&uot; Geoghegan said.

Archer did get several nice assists kicking the ball out to shooters when the Lady Rebel defense collapsed on her. Molly Butts had eight points for Trinity, helping the Lady Saints stay in the game early on, but all her points came in the first half.

Gray credited all his players with tough defense, but singled out DeLaSalle for her play.

&uot;I saw something from DeLaSalle tonight. She did a super job defending on the perimeter,&uot; Gray said. &uot;I had thought she was just a post defender, but she stepped up for us when we needed her.&uot;

The Lady Rebels’ prize is a matchup with Brookhaven Academy (32-1) in the championship game &045; tipoff at 2:15 p.m. today &045; and a rematch between Gray and his son, Brookhaven head coach Barry Gray.

&uot;It’s unbelievable, to play the best team in the state and it happens to be the team my son coaches,&uot; John Gray said.

Brookhaven Academy dispatched Central Hinds 64-26.