NATCHEZ — After recovering from an early nine-point deficit to take a 47-40 lead with under five minutes remaining in the game, it looked like the Cathedral Lady Wave would be able to grab an impressive win over Monterey in their season opener.

But the Lady Wolves were determined not to let that happen.

Monterey held Cathedral to one field goal over the final 5:35 of the fourth quarter and tied the score at 51 apiece when Kristin Russell hit a basket with 20 seconds left.

The Lady Wolves then outscored the Lady Wave 5-0 in the overtime period to take a hard-fought 56-51 victory on Tuesday night.

“The girls worked their tails off and they worked together,” Monterey head coach Cary Shively said. “This team doesn’t quit no matter the score. They give it everything they’ve got all the time, whether they’re up or down.”

And midway through the fourth quarter, it looked like their chances to pull off the win were about done.

Cathedral’s Ana Perry hit two free throws with 4:46 remaining to give the Lady Wave their biggest lead of the game at 47-40.

However, the Monterey defense forced four consecutive Cathedral turnovers and wound up tying the game at 49 apiece when Russell converted a free throw after being fouled on a made basket with 2:02 remaining.

However, Cathedral quickly answered with a fast break basket on the inbounds, as Perry laid the ball in just four seconds later to give the Wave a 51-49 lead.

Cathedral had several opportunities to ice the game in the final two minutes, but couldn’t find the bottom of the net.

Monterey finally tied the score with 20 seconds left when Russell caught a pass in the paint and laid it in.

Cathedral had a chance to win the game in regulation, but Epiphany Jackson’s three-pointer at the buzzer went off the back of the rim.

Monterey then dominated the four-minute overtime, not allowing Cathedral to score a single point.

The Lady Wolves defense held Cathedral to just one field goal over the final 9:35 of the game.

“With this being our first game, we got winded down the stretch,” Cathedral coach Bernita Dunbar said. “We should have put them away, but I think the girls did a very good job for this being our first game.”

Cathedral played well in stretches, which gave Dunbar hope for the remainder of the season.

“I was very pleased with some of the new things we put in,” Dunbar said. “If this game is any indication, we’re going to have a good season.”

Cathedral (0-1) was led by Ginny Daggett with 23 points while Perry scored 21 and Jackson tallied 7.

Ellen Bairnsfather led Monterey (5-1) with 16 points while Russell scored 14.

Monterey boys 50, Cathedral 39

Monterey improved to 6-0 on the season by defeating a Cathedral squad that was missing five players due to the football team still being in the playoffs.

The Wolves trailed the Green Wave 23-21 at halftime, but dominated the second half, outscoring Cathedral 29-16 in the final 16 minutes of the game.

Josh Chapman led the way for Monterey with 18 points while Jacob Evans scored eight.

Cathedral (0-1) was led by Collin Hammons with 12 points and D.J. Perry with 10 points.