NATCHEZ — The Natchez girls and boys basketball teams opened their seasons Tuesday night against Wilkinson County and they both captured convincing wins.

Winning a state championship is hard enough, but repeating is even harder. But head coach Alphaka Moore and her Lady Bulldogs started their defense of the title on the right foot, winning 79-30.

“I thought we did OK,” Moore said. “This is our first game and we are starting a lot later than everyone else in Mississippi. I was trying to see where they were mentally because of first game jitters, but they were able to get those out eventually.”

The Lady Bulldogs missed their first few shots of the game, but after their first basket, everything seemed to find the bottom of the net.

Natchez opened the game on a 29-4 run, powered by Ernesha Chatman’s eight points in the first quarter. Skylar Morgan also added seven.

Natchez continued to dominate in the second quarter with suffocating defense, holding Wilkinson County to just eight points in the quarter and taking a huge 42-12 lead into halftime.

Because of the early success, Moore was able to get everyone in the game, which is something she was glad she was able to do.

“It is really good to be able to get everyone in because I see how much they’ve progressed at game speed,” she said. “I see how much they’ve learned, so I can be confident in them and in having an active rotation.”

With the starting five getting an extended period of rest, Moore’s role players went to work in the third and pushed the Lady Bulldog lead to 59-24 heading into the final quarter of play.

Moore was able to get her starters back into the game one more time in the back end of the fourth quarter to close out the game.

Kirdis Clark was the high scorer in the game with 17 and Morgan ended up finishing with 16.

The boys game proved a tougher test, with the Bulldogs taking down the Wildcats 65-46.

Both teams got off to slow starts, but Natchez was able to turn things on in the second quarter, building a 21-point lead at halftime.

“I think we played in spurts,” Natchez assistant coach David Haywood said. “We did some good things, and we did some things we need to improve on. We’ve just got to get in there and work on some stuff.”

Natchez and Wilkinson County found their grooves in the third quarter, with both teams shooting the ball well. Natchez racked up 18 points in the quarter, while Wilkinson County added 22.

Despite trailing, the Wildcats didn’t lie down, and were able to hang around for a majority of the game.

“You’ve got to give Wilkinson County a lot of credit,” Haywood said. “They stayed the course and kept on doing what they do. I tip my hat. They are a good team and we have to see them again in their place.”

But the Bulldogs were able to continue to roll, thanks in part to the play of Daryl Jones, who led the team with 15 points.

Forward Michael Morris also turned in a solid performance with 12 points. Traveon Jones was the leading scorer for Wilkinson County with 24 points.