FERRIDAY — The Concordia Parish Jamboree hosted Saturday at Ferriday High School was a way for some local teams to get in some live game action before the 2014-2015 regular season gets under way.

It was also an opportunity for head coaches to evaluate what the players need to work on, what the coaches liked and did not like, and who took on the leadership role for their respective teams.

One of those teams was the Cathedral Lady Green Wave, which took on both the Vidalia Lady Vikings and the Ferriday Lady Trojans. Head coach Randy Smith said there were some things he liked and plenty of things that will need improving before its season gets under way on Monday, Nov. 24 at Vidalia.

“We liked some of our defense. The teams we played were very aggressive. We did a good job adjusting to that. We did not back down from them,” Smith said. “I think the best thing was we had different combinations on the floor.”

Smith said that he wanted to see which five players he had on the court would work the best and possibly the starting five for the season-opener.

“It was a good learning experience. We kind of got those jitters out of the way and the turnovers,” Smith said. “We didn’t have as many turnovers as we did last year.”

Smith noted that Mackenzie Watts and McKenzie Milligan stepped up into the leadership role, but in vastly different ways.

“Mackenzie Watts by making shots and playing hard defense. McKenzie Milligan played the point. It was the first time in her whole career playing the point,” Smith said. “They’re still practicing dancing and cheerleading. They all cheered and danced at the football game (Friday) night.”

Against the Lady Trojans on their home court, it was completely different.

“They were fired up. Ferriday came out on fire. They were shooting from way out. They were very quick,” Smith said. “If you try to play man-to-man, they would get past you, because they’re so fast.”

Vidalia Lady Vikings head coach Fred Marsalis said he was proud of his team’s performance despite a lack of depth.

“Against Jena, we actually should have won. We made a few mistakes, which is normal. I like our team effort,” Marsalis said. “We had a few mental errors. They will correct themselves with time.”

Vidalia brought a total of 10 players to the jamboree — five for the two varsity games against Cathedral and Jena and five for the junior varsity game against Cathedral.

“We have to work on our conditioning. We split up and played the JV,” Marsalis said. “Cathedral has improved. We applaud them for their effort. We’ll see them again a week from Monday. We appreciate our kids for not giving up. The coaching staff liked the effort of the kids.”

Marsalis said that Tierra Bell, Bre’Honor Harris and Brianna Tolliver stepped up for the Lady Vikings. But he also emphasized that it was a total team effort.

“We tried to see where we are and what we need to work on,” Marsalis said.

Ferriday Trojans head coach K.G. Watkins had to go with the junior varsity players in their games against Jena and Vidalia because the football team just completed its season last Friday night.

“My varsity players will be back this week,” Watkins said.

Meanwhile, Vidalia won two varsity games, defeating Tensas 18-17 and Ferriday 26-7.

Despite the victories, Vidalia head coach Robert Sander wasn’t pleased with his team’s performance.

“We played a lot of individual ball,” Sanders said. “We played sporadic, and when we settled down and were patient, we played well. But had too much one-on-one going on.”