WOODVILLE — In their last game before MHSAA Division 6-6A play starts later this week, the Natchez High Lady Bulldogs made sure they were not looking past the Wilkinson County Lady Wildcats Tuesday night.

Led by the duo of Keyana Miller and Kiana Jones, Natchez High got off to a good start in the first quarter and ended up defeating Wilkinson County 57-45 to improve to 10-1 on the season.

The Lady Bulldogs wound up with a 20-9 lead over the Lady Wildcats at the end of the first quarter and Natchez High’s defense continued to be aggressive over the next two quarters.

Even though the shots didn’t fall for the Lady Bulldogs in the second and third quarters like they did in the first quarter, they still led Wilkinson County 30-18 at halftime and 42-25 after three quarters of play. Miller finished with a game-high 19 points and Jones had 16 points.

By the time Wilkinson County finally got into a rhythm in the fourth quarter, it was too late for a comeback bid. The Lady Wildcats scored 20 points in that quarter while the Lady Bulldogs had 15 points. Malesia Slack led Wilkinson County (3-10) with 17 points while Okanawa Brown added 11 points.

Natchez High begins division play Friday night when it hosts Terry. Wilkinson County next plays at the Dexter Invitational Dec. 26-29.

Monterey 40, Calvin 37

CALVIN, La. — Reagan Tiffee led Monterey with 17 points and Kristin Russell chipped in with 10 points as the Lady Wolves held off a furious fourth-quarter rally by Calvin to defeat the Lady Cougars Tuesday night.

“We were patient on offense and got good shots when they were open,” Monterey head coach Cary Shivley said. “We played really good defense.”

Monterey jumped out to a 15-5 lead over Calvin after one quarter of play and then took a 29-14 lead into halftime. The Lady Wolves led by 13 points at the end of the third quarter and it appeared like they were on their way to a blowout win. But the Lady Cougars made it close down the stretch.

“They jumped into half-court pressure and forced a few turnovers. They made some late free throws,” Shivley said.

Monterey (12-3) hosts Cathedral on Thursday, Dec. 27.