NATCHEZ &045; Life sure has gotten bumpy for the Adams Christian Lady Rebels.

Not that anyone was expecting a smooth ride through that tough District 2-AAA, but things have gotten tougher. Throw a sizeable and significantly improved Lamar team into that mix of superior teams in the district, and the Lady Rebels are in a dogfight every time out.

Saturday’s game with Lamar was just that, a game deadlocked at 28-28 at the end of regulation. But a couple turnovers in the overtime enabled the Lady Raiders to take a 33-28 win for their first win in the district on the season and send AC tumbling to 1-5 in district.

&uot;We had enough good shots in that game to win,&uot; AC head coach Bruce Pickle said. &uot;We missed too many free throws. We’re just not playing good right now. We’ll have to keep fighting. It’s not that they’re not playing hard. They’re playing hard and giving it all they’ve got. They just need a little good luck, hit some shots and get their confidence back.&uot;

The Lady Rebels had opportunities to put the game away in regulation after missing 13 free throws in the second half. But they had life in the overtime period with the score knotted at 28, a score that stood until nearly halfway through the four-minute extra period.

The Lady Raiders got a bucket from Elizabeth Luke with 2:07 left and hit three of four free throws for a good lead.

&uot;We had been playing them man to man the whole game, and the overtime we went to a 1-3-1 zone,&uot; Lamar head coach Tory Johnson said. &uot;It seemed to work out better. We would double down on their post. Offensively we turned the ball over the whole game, but it kind of fell our way (in OT).&uot;

The Lady Raiders went to the 1-3-1 to cut off the inside play of April Boyd, who was held scoreless after the third quarter, and let the Lady Rebels beat them from the outside. But AC had two crucial turnovers in the overtime period &045; one with 30 seconds left and another with 11 seconds &045; to overshadow a solid defensive effort on their part the entire game.

&uot;I went with my little group to go with the press,&uot; Pickle said of his four-guard lineup. &uot;We made some turnovers in the overtime period. Hopefully that’s going to help (sophomore) Brittany (Gamberi) in the future. She’s just a sophomore, and that’s a lot of pressure on her. We need her against teams who are going to press us. But it wasn’t just her &045; it was all of us.&uot;

Things went awry, Pickle admitted, before the end of regulation when the Lady Rebels were bringing the ball down the floor with five seconds left. The Lady Rebels took a four-point lead with 2:28 left when Gamberi converted a three-point play, but Lamar got two free throws and a later bucket from Cheryl Luquire to tie the game at the 1:40 mark.

Huntington girls 59, WCCA 48

WOODVILLE &045; Things are looking up for the Lady Hounds. Three players finished in double digits in scoring Saturday as they may have solidified a No. 3 spot in the District 7-A standings.

Whitney Bradford, Erin Hedrick and Jessi Moak each scored 12 points as the Lady Hounds (10-11, 3-4) took jumped out to a 32-16 lead on the Lady Rams (6-9, 2-4).

&uot;That was our best offensive night of the year,&uot; Huntington head coach Penny Moak said. &uot;We shot 48 percent, which is unheard of. We had others step up. That’s kind of what I’ve been looking for. I hope that carries into next week when we play Trinity.&uot;

The Lady Hounds took a 17-11 lead by the end of the first but used their pressure defense to outscore WCCA 15-5 in the second. Notorious for starting slow, the Lady Hounds built the early lead.

WCCA boys 55, Huntington 46

WOODVILLE &045; The Rams used a solid fourth quarter to pull away from a close game and take their third win in District 7-A.

The game was tied at 39 after the third quarter, and the Rams (4-8, 3-3) outscored Huntington 16-7 in the fourth quarter. The Rams led 17-16 after one and 29-28 at half.