NATCHEZ &045; Even though this year’s Adams Christian team is totally different than a year ago, Trinity’s Lady Saints were still out-sized.

Not that it matter to them.

The Lady Saints got some key buckets from the outside and battled for rebounds down on the block to take a 42-37 win over the Lady Rebels Tuesday. The Lady Saints lost all three meetings last year with AC in the crosstown showdown, but this time they had to battle to the end to come out on top.

&uot;I was getting pushed around under there, but it’s all about getting position,&uot; said guard Mallory Archer, who nailed a couple of pivotal 3-pointers in the second half. &uot;We are very small. We’re a young team, but we really don’t think it matters. We have some good ball players. If we play like we know how, we’ll get the job done.

&uot;You just have to get in there and get the rebounds. I think we proved tonight that size really doesn’t matter as long as you play basketball.&uot;

The Lady Saints had trouble on the inside against the Lady Rebels’ line of post players. But as soon as they came away with rebounds and second shots, things started to turn.

Then the Lady Rebels went with a 2-3 defense in the second half, and Archer canned three big 3-pointers to give her team some momentum.

&uot;They have a big lineup, and we don’t,&uot; Trinity head coach Melanie Hall said. &uot;The girls wanted this game really badly. You know how I start everything &045; to God be the glory &045; and we went in there for a pre-game talk, and somebody said, ‘Remember who we’re playing for.’ God gives you talents. They got the W. It wasn’t pretty, but they got the W.&uot;

Give credit for both teams for fighting to the end as the game stayed tight the whole way, but the Lady Saints got the buckets and picked up the pressure on the defensive end in the second half.

Adams Christian did what it does best early in getting it into the post area, but Trinity keyed on that late and forced the Lady Rebels to shoot from the outside.

&uot;They’ve got a really experienced team, and that’s what’s hurting us,&uot; Adams head coach John Gray said. &uot;Experience is the thing that’s hurting us right now, and the only way to get there is to let them play. Offensively, we’ve got a long way to get there. We played hard offensively. It’s going to come. We’re taking bad shots, and we’ve got to learn what good shots are.&uot;

The Lady Rebels battled back midway through the third quarter to tie it up on a basket from Mattie Geoghegan with 4:03 left, and that’s when the Lady Saints started to pull away. Archer hit a bucket, Laura Jo Hurt canned one of two free throws and Archer nailed a huge 3-pointer from way out at the 1:29 mark for a 31-25 lead, the team’s biggest of the game.

The Lady Saints led 31-28 at the start of the fourth but got another triple from Archer at the 6:15 mark that put the lead at 36-30.

&uot;I just felt the shots, so I took them,&uot; Archer said. &uot;They played good defense, but we just moved the ball patiently. We had to wait on that open basket. We tried to rush it a few times, but we finally got it down pat. We just did what we had to do.&uot;

The open shots buried the Lady Rebels, who couldn’t answer offensively on the other end. They couldn’t get the deficit lower than six in the fourth quarter before going to the man defense, and Archer split everything by taking her man one-on-one for a layup at the 2:40 mark for a 42-34 lead.

&uot; I thought AC ran the floor well, and they’re big,&uot; Hall said. &uot;They fought back. It seemed like every time we got a little lead they’d come charging back. I like it when people play us zone. I’ve got some kids that can shoot the lights out, but when the shots aren’t falling it’s your defense. When you pick that defensive intensity up, it picks up the offense.&uot;

The Lady Rebels went inside often during the early going and took an early lead by hammering it down there. Meghan Austin’s bucket with 5:34 left in the second put their lead at 12-11, and the Lady Rebels scored the first five points of the second half to tie it up.

Genna Yelverton put in two free throws with 6:15 left in the third to tie the score at 21.

&uot;These kids work hard and play hard,&uot; Gray said. &uot;Trinity is one of the better basketball teams in the area. They’re real solid. We’re not blessed with outside shooting. Our biggest problem right now is we don’t have experienced players.&uot;