NATCHEZ — The Adams County Christian School Lady Rebels stared adversity in the face and decided to do something about it after trailing Oak Forest Academy 30-18 at halftime Friday night.

ACCS played outstanding basketball on both ends of the court in the second half, turning that 12-point deficit in a 52-46 win.

And as head coach Melanie Hall put it, they did not get down on themselves. Instead, they played with a lot of heart, resiliency and togetherness.

“They encouraged each other. They took care of each other. They built each other up. They had each other’s backs,” Hall said. “I was so proud. It was a total team effort. To God be the glory. It was pretty special.”

Tory Laird led the Lady Rebels with a game-high 24 points. But it was not only her scoring that helped them rally in the second half, but it was her leadership that was a big factor.

“Tory really picked her teammates up and was a leader for us. We had a couple of starters foul out. She encouraged her teammates. She really stepped up,” Hall said.

ACCS outscored Oak Forest 12-6 in the third quarter to make it a game at 36-30 in favor of the Lady Yellow Jackets. The Lady Rebels finally took the lead in the fourth quarter and ended up outscoring the Lady Yellow Jackets 22-10 for the amazing win.

“They hustled. They did what we did. They executed offensively and defensively,” Hall said.

McKenzie Boyd added eight points and Ashleigh Williams scored six points for ACCS (4-8). The Lady Rebels next play at the Brookhaven Academy Tournament against Central Private School on Thursday, Dec. 27 at 11 a.m.

Riverfield Academy 54, Trinity Episcopal 16

NATCHEZ — Lauchlyn Emfinger led Riverfield Academy with 25 points and Ashley Cooper poured in 19 points as the Lady Raiders had little trouble in defeating the Trinity Episcopal Lady Saints Friday night.

Riverfield took control of this game early and Trinity was not able to mount any sort of a rally. The Lady Raiders ended up with a 19-6 lead over the Lady Saints at the end of the first quarter and then took a commanding 34-9 lead into halftime.

Trinity Episcopal (0-9) was led by Sloane Young with nine points. The Lady Saints next play at the Riverfield Tournament against an opponent to be determined on Thursday, Dec. 27 at 6:20 p.m.

Hinds AHS 64, Cathedral 16

UTICA — The Cathedral Lady Green Wave ran into a buzzsaw in the form of the Hinds Agricultural High School Lady Bulldogs in their MHSAA Region 7-1A opener Friday night.

Hinds AHS scored 30 points in the first quarter and 22 in the third quarter in cruising to the easy win. Cathedral, on the other hand, scored no more than eight points in any of the four quarters.

Sarah Beth Willard led Cathedral (3-8, 0-1) with six points. The Lady Green Wave play at the Enterprise Tournament in Brookhaven against Pisgah at 4 p.m. next Friday.

North Pike 56, Wilkinson County 50

WOODVILLE — The second quarter was the downfall for Wilkinson County as the Lady Wildcats were outscored 16-4 by North Pike and ended up losing by six points to the Lady Jaguars Friday night.

North Pike led Wilkinson County 33-20 at halftime. The Lady Wildcats tried to get back in the game in the third quarter and actually outscored the Lady Jaguars 16-6 to cut the lead to just three points at the end of the quarter.

However, the Lady Jaguars responded with a 17-14 advantage in the fourth quarter.

Wilkinson County (3-9) was led by Gadreika Cotton with 16 points and Lineasia Palmer with 13 points. The Lady Wildcats host Natchez High next Tuesday night.