NATCHEZ &045; Nobody really gave that 1978 Trinity Episcopal girls’ team much more than a second thought.

The Lady Saints from Class A started three sophomores and two seniors and didn’t have as much talent as some of the other teams in MPSA did. Head coach Robert Murray had an idea of what those three sophomores could be, so he stuck with them trying to see how far they can go and and how much experience they could get for the future.

One of those sophomores was Melanie Pintard Hall, a tall and lanky all-or-nothing-type player at the forward.

Pintard teamed with Lynn Marchbanks Rivers and Amanda Ferguson Jeansonne along with two seniors to form a team that pulled some upsets on its way to a state championship. The banner hangs today in Clyde Adams Arena from that title.

It’s was a special time in the history of the program, particularly since it may have been more heart and determination that actual talent that earned that banner.

&uot;They called them the ‘Terrific Trio,’&uot; said Patsy Pintard, Hall’s mother. &uot;You could not find a parking place to see a girls’ game. They were fantastic to watch. I never got as big a thrill watching Melanie’s college play like I did those high school girls.

&uot;From the time Melanie was 12 years old, she was constantly with a basketball. It would be nothing to hear her dribbling the basketball in the hall of our house at 3 or 4 in the morning. It’s been her life.&uot;

And like all those in that Terrific Trio, Hall didn’t like losing. As they grew into seniors, the group returned to the state championship game in 1980 &045; this time as the favorites. Rivers, however, went down with an injury in that game, and the Lady Saints came up short.

It’s a memory Hall has carried with her as head coach at her alma mater. Her Lady Saints this past season were similar to that 1977-78 team &045; not an abundance of talent but enough heart and desire to compensate for it.

The Lady Saints finished runners-up in District 7-A and earned a spot in the South State tournament. For that, Hall is the 2003-04 All-Metro Coach of the Year.

&uot;I don’t think I’m as hard on them as I was on myself as a player,&uot; said Hall, named 1980 All-Metro Co-Player of the Year along with Rivers. &uot;I was a lot harder on myself as a player. If we didn’t get that win on the scoreboard, I was not a graceful loser. That wasn’t in my vocabulary. As a player, I really didn’t understand that we did the best we could. If I was as hard on them as I was on myself, I probably would have run all of them off.&uot;

Thankfully, she didn’t. But instead Hall, her mother said, sees the position of head coach of the game of basketball as a sort of ministry to her players, and it’s no surprise to see players donning team T-shirts with Bible verse inscripted on them.

For a coach who has made basketball her life since elementary school, it’s a matter of passing down that determination and focus to her players.

&uot;Provers 16-3: Commit to the Lord whatever you do, and your plans will succeed,&uot; Hall said. &uot;We have always said from the beginning, ‘To God be the glory.’ He gives us talents and abilities, and when we use those talents and abilities to the best of our abilities, good things happen.&uot;

Good things finally happened for the Lady Saints about midway through the season after a number of bad breaks happened. The team got down to six players, had one senior in Lauren Harper and one junior in Sierra Massey.

Hall had to bring up junior high players to help fill out the roster, but Hall and the team stayed together.

&uot;This past season was a lot more fun than the last,&uot; sophomore guard Mallory Archer said. &uot;We progressed as the season went on and did a lot better. We shocked ourselves. I don’t think any of us thought we’d get as far as we did. But Coach Hall believed in us. She told us that from the start. We knew if we stayed together as a team we could do it.&uot;

Despite the odds, the goals remained the same &045; beat rival Huntington and earn a bid to South State. Both could have been deemed lofty goals since everyone in the district significantly improved over last year and the Lady Hounds remained a formidable opponent despite some key losses.

But that’s when Hall started seeing something in the few girls she had out &045; something intangible, something that a coach really can’t coach but can only develop and push.

Even though they suffered some lopsided losses at the beginning, such as a 40-point defeat to Adams Christian, the team was starting to jell.

&uot;Our team unity and chemistry was just super,&uot; Hall said. &uot;We were down in numbers, but we were real big with the hearts. I’ve always said a little bit of talent and a lot of heart is dangerous. The kids bought into that. As you can see from Day 1 when the kids stepped out on the court to when they finished, they were a totally different group.

&uot;If you play hard and play smart, you’re going to have fun &045; you’re playing for your team and the love of the game.&uot;

A funny thing happened, however, following the holiday break. The Lady Saints had started off strong in district but were getting hammered by the bigger schools, but after the break in a home game against Class AAA Jackson Prep things started to change.

The Lady Saints were in the ball game up until halftime with a team that is a perennial lock to compete for a Class AAA state championship.

&uot;We hung with them until halftime,&uot; Archer said. &uot;We were behind by not very much, and they ran away with it in the third quarter. But we hung with them. I think we realized that game we knew we could be good if we played together.&uot;

The loss may have been a game where the team turned a corner. The Lady Saints played solid down the stretch in the regular season and finished strong despite a loss to Huntington on the road.

The team kept relying on Archer and Massey as sources of scoring along with post Laura Jo Hurt and guards Harper, Jessica Marchbanks, Suzannah Ketchings and eighth-grader Molly Butts. Archer, who mostly played the point, was able to move to her natural slot at shooting guard with Butts in the lineup.

The Lady Saints finished with three losses in district and got into the championship of the district tournament before losing to Tensas Academy. And they also held their own against big schools Central Private and Adams Christian, the team that just blew them out in November.

&uot;I’ve always believed in them,&uot; Hall said. &uot;Most of those kids I coached in junior high, and they pulled some upsets to get the championships of those tournaments. I knew what was in them, but they had to believe that. In that Prep game, they said, ‘This is Jackson Prep, and we’re hanging with them. They’re having to hustle. Maybe we can do this.’

Some of those bigger schools we played, we played some of our best ball. We just thank God for the opportunity.&uot;

So much like that 1978 squad, the Lady Saints often played well in the underdog role. It also built a solid foundation for seasons to come thanks to the experience in the year of turnaround from the season prior.

They know what it takes, and are better for it.

&uot;We had a little bit of unity, but we didn’t have very much,&uot; Archer said of the 2002-03 Lady Saints. &uot;There was a lot of jealousy on the team. We weren’t a team. It was a rough year. When you don’t have unity it makes it a lot harder. It makes it hard on everybody.&uot;

The center of it is Hall, the coach who is giving it all on the floor &045; just on the bench and not out on the floor. She’s yelling at her players and working them as hard they can, but a season of that led the Lady Saints to their goals.

And when they get far, Murray and Marchbanks-Rivers come out to watch.

&uot;She has made differences in a lot of girls’ lives,&uot; Pintard said. &uot;You could see the fervor (then), and still today Melanie wants her team to do like they did. (She coaches) with all of her heart. She’ll have those girls in tip-top physical shape. She definitely coaches like she played.&uot;