It’s payback time, so the Ferriday Lady Trojans are getting ready.

Not any payback for them to

deliver. Instead it’s what the remainder of District 4-2A is thinking starting today as the younger Lady Trojans enter district in the first year after going undefeated the previous two years and winning the title the last three.

To make matters worse, the Lady Trojans (9-4) will be without freshman starter Kim Warner, who separated a shoulder a second time last week in practice and may be out for while.

More bad news? The Lady Trojans enter the game without playing a game last week and haven’t played since a Jan. 3 loss to Mangham in the Sicily Island tournament. They host Crowville today at prep basketball resumes in the Miss-Lou.

&uot;That kind of put a damper on our spirits,&uot; Ferriday head coach Lisa Abron said. &uot;We haven’t looked too good (at practice). It’s kind of hard when you’re practicing all week and not playing. We’ll have to pick up where we left off. Everybody will be gunning for us. We’ve been beating everyone the last three or four years, and they figure they’ve got a chance to beat us.&uot;

Although a freshman, Warner has been one of the team’s leading scorers along with sophomore point guard Jameca Garrison. The loss may not be felt as much on offense as on defense, an area where the Lady Trojans hope to make a difference in during district.

With the loss of Warner and the layover since playing, that’s become a worry, too. With Crowville and McCall having size advantage in the middle, Ferriday’s best approach is to play strong defense &045; especially in the halfcourt.

&uot;We’ll try to come out and just play,&uot; Abron said. &uot;That’s all we can do now. I hope we didn’t lose a lot as far as our defense is concerned. That’s mostly what I’m concerned with &045; defense. But with this district, strange things have happened. Just being able to stop them &045; that’s all I’m concerned with right now. Especially if they have big people.&uot;

The Lady Bulldogs (10-6) have most of their team returning from last year’s playoff squad. That same bunch gave last year’s Lady Trojans trouble for one half thanks to their stall tactic before succumbing in the second half.

The Lady Bulldogs do have the size advantage in the middle, much like McCall will have with standout post Bettina Fountain in the middle. Only the Lady Dragons have a much better record at 20-0 and a bucket load of momentum heading into district as they face Lake Providence today.

Vidalia will be idle the first round of district and face Wilkinson County in a non-district contest today. The Lady Trojans will host McCall Jan. 27.

&uot;I think the majority of (Crowville’s) team is coming back,&uot; Abron said. &uot;Crowville is going to be a tough team to beat. Last year they had a big girl in the middle and a pretty good point guard.

&uot;I’ve been hearing a lot of different coaches talking about (McCall). They’re so secretive. Every time I talk to them, they said, ‘We don’t have anything.’ But I know they’re doing something to be undefeated this late in the season. If we can win second or third in district, that will be good.&uot;

Ferriday’s boys, too, go into tonight’s game after a long layover. They haven’t played a game since Jan. 2 when they lost by two points to Delhi at the Sicily Island tournament.

The Trojans (7-6) host a Crowville team that finished in last place in the district a season ago but enters 4-2A play this season at 8-12.

Huntington’s Lady Hounds, meanwhile, have a shot tonight at making ground in the MPSA District 7-A race when they host first-place Tensas Academy. In what’s been a rebuilding year of sorts for the Lady Hounds as well, they sit in third place in the standings at 2-3 while entering the second round of district.

The team’s fate has rode mostly on the shoulders of leading scorers Whitney Bradford and Erin Hedrick so far this season.

&uot;I’m dealing with so much inconsistency,&uot; Huntington head coach Penny Moak said. &uot;We have the potential to beat (Tensas). But it’s kind of like buying a lottery ticket &045; you don’t know what numbers will win until you get there. Saturday we played a great game against Centreville. Hopefully we can lead off on that note.

&uot;You hate to put all that pressure on (Bradford and Hedrick), but they’re the two main scorers. The games we’ve gotten beat really bad &045; like the first time we played Centreville &045; Erin had just one point. WCCA was a hard loss for us. They’re a pretty good team, but Whitney fouled out in that game.&uot;

If both can have productive nights tonight against a tough Tensas team, anything can happen. Moak likes the matchup possibilities against the Lady Chiefs since they don’t have a really big post in the middle.

The Lady Chiefs (15-4) have a win over Adams Christian to their credit and also lost to the Lady Rebels in overtime.

&uot;Tensas is just so quick,&uot; Moak said. &uot;They’re young &045; that’s the scary thing. They run you in the ground and play excellent defense. If you’re not ready to play, it’s not going to be good. We match up pretty well with them. The last time we played them they really beat us on their press. We had a terrible time getting the ball in bounds. We shot horrible, too, but I think we’ve improved since then.&uot;

Centreville’s Lady Tigers also have a huge home game tonight when they host Brookhaven Academy. The Lady Cougars continue to be one of the premier teams in all of MPSA as they’re off to a 21-0 start following Saturday’s win at Central Private.