It happened. Four times.

After just one week of several teams in the Miss-Lou opening district play &045; some remain in non-district &045; four teams notched significant upsets to turn what little order had been made in the standings on its ear.

Adams Christian’s boys went to Central Private and won, Cathedral’s boys knocked off Mississippi School for the Deaf, Jefferson County’s boys handed Amite County its first loss in region and Natchez High’s girls perhaps netted the biggest one Friday with their win over Warren Central, 60-58 in overtime.

The Lady Bulldogs struggled through their pre-division schedule with just two wins up until the Christmas break &045; beating Jefferson County and Amite County, who have four wins combined. But something happened after the break at the Hattiesburg tournament, and in their first game since then they upended Warren Central to land their first win in Division 6-5A.

&uot;The girls have really been practicing hard,&uot; NHS assistant coach Yvonne Chatman said. &uot;We knew we were not playing the kind of ball we were capable of. The Hattiesburg tournament really got us focused. We jelled and saw what we needed to do as a team, and we put it all together. If we can continue to work hard, we can play the type of ball we all know we’re capable of playing.&uot;

That pre-Christmas stretch was a tough road for the Lady Bulldogs, who were having younger players step up into key roles following the graduation of standouts Karmethia Mazique, Gloria Lewis and Crystal L. Brown. The team was relatively young with unproven players like Kamesha Sproulls, Delequa Drake and big Sherika Hargrave in the middle.

Sproulls and Drake, however, stepped up their game big time Friday against WC’s top inside players in Tranyce Peoples and Cookie Johnson, both of whom spent time on the bench in the second half in foul trouble.

Chatman and assistant Steve McClatchy have helped to coach the team in absence of veteran head coach Mary Irving, who has been hospitalized and been away from the team since the break.

Like the players on the floor, the coaches stepped in to pick up the slack and bring along a team that’s got some talent.

&uot;Our bench play is a big part in our success for the season,&uot; Chatman said. &uot;I think every girl realizes they have a job to do. Kamesha Sproulls has really stepped up her game. She’s got a positive attitude, and it shows on the floor.&uot;

The inside game came up big Friday in getting the Lady Vikings in foul trouble, but Sproulls was the biggest positive in hitting two clutch free throws with 13 seconds left in the overtime. The Lady Bulldogs shot a nightmarish 14 of 35 from the line and could have put the game away by plenty in regulation.

Sproulls, the team’s best free throw shooter as she hit seven of eight, came through.

&uot;I feel like we can get much better if we cut down on our turnovers and make our free throws,&uot; Drake said. &uot;(Free throws) killed us (Friday), but thank God Sproulls hit those when she had to. We just look forward to our next game. This is our winning streak.&uot;

NO SURPRISE &045; Those Jefferson County Tigers have picked it up a notch of late, and Friday’s win over Amite County proved they will contend for the Region 7-3A regular season title &045; a spot that earns an automatic bid to the South State tournament.

The Tigers, too, had to endure some rebuilding early but have welcomed the play of Dudley Guice Jr., a transfer from Trinity Episcopal School, who has become a playmaker in the team’s rotation.

Guice led all scorers with 17 points in the team’s 58-46 win over Amite Friday and finished with 10 in Tuesday’s 54-43 win at Franklin County.

&uot;Dudley has been coming off giving us a spark off the bench,&uot; JC head coach Marcus Walton said. &uot;The kids have done a good job of welcoming Dudley in. It seems like Dudley has been here all year. He’s accepted his role and is doing everything we’ve asked of him &045; score, rebound, block a shot or play defense. He’s a team player, and they just get along like they’ve been good friends all along.&uot;

EARLY SEASONING &045; When Trinity Episcopal’s Lady Saints were down to six varsity players earlier this season, it gave them a chance to bring some younger players about. MPSA rules allow you to bring B team players up to varsity when your numbers get that low, and the Lady Saints are taking advantage.

Trinity head coach Melanie Hall scooped up eighth-grader Molly Butts and freshmen Courtney Timm and Eliza Jones to help out. Hall likes the addition of Butts, a true point guard who can play and move leading scorer Mallory Archer to a shooting guard position.

Archer, last year’s runner-up in the District 7-A MVP voting, is a much better scorer that point, Hall said. The addition has helped the Lady Saints to sit second in district at 5-1 after beating Ben’s Ford Friday.

&uot;Those (true points) are rare,&uot; Hall said. &uot;I feel like in the future we’ll keep improving. If they will continue to work and stay together, down the road looks good for our program. They’re getting valuable playing time and learning how to play together. We’re young &045; the bulk of my team is sophomores. It’s been really tough, but you grow through the tough times. I’m looking forward to the second half (of district).&uot;

RESTOCKING &045; Ah, the luxuries of living in the state’s biggest city.

The Hillcrest Cougars began their defense of their MPSA Overall title this season without a single starter back from the 2002-03 team.

The only player who saw significant playing time is Chandler Pleasant, who acted as Hillcrest’s sixth man a season ago.

&uot;That’s one of those life-isn’t-always-fair things,&uot; ACCS head coach John Gray said. &uot;But even with (Hillcrest) doing that they still have to battle the JAs, the MRAs who do the same thing and probably get better athletes. (Jackson has) a lot of tradition up there in basketball.&uot;

However, despite whatever talent a school brings in, if that individual or individuals &045; depending on the case &045; cannot commingle with his teammates, then the climb is still difficult.

The Cougars learned that early on with losses to MPSA powers Jackson Academy and Brookhaven Academy each once, and Madison Ridgeland Academy twice.

Heigle believes the 64-31 drubbing MRA delivered last Tuesday has woken his players up. The Cougars downed ACCS Friday, 56-46

&uot;We’re playing the best basketball we’ve played all year,&uot; he said. &uot;I don’t think we know how good we can be. We’re just scratching the surface.&uot;

UNSUNG HEROES &045; ACCS girls head coach Bruce Pickle had plenty to be thrilled with in Friday’s 50-31 victory over the Lady Cougars.

Not only was it the Lady Rebels’ (12-6, 1-3) first 2-AAA ‘W’ but it also represented the first complete game AC has played in some time.

While regular starters Nikki Hankins and April Boy led the team in scoring with 15 and 10, respectively, Pickle liked the play of starting post Krystal Truitt, who stayed out of foul trouble and played good defense.

&uot;This was one of Krystal’s better games,&uot; Pickle said. &uot;She really hustled and fought for us, and we’re going to need that out of her.&uot;

Sports writer

Chuck Corder

contributed to this report.