Jada Griggs came up big time in the clutch as her 3-pointer with just 15 seconds left gave the Ferriday High School Lady Trojans a 49-46 win over the Sterlington High School Lady Panthers Friday night in the LHSAA District 2-2A opener for both teams.

After Griggs’ go-ahead shot, it was up to Ferriday’s defense to keep the game from going into overtime against a good Sterlington team.

“We pressured all the way up. They took a final shot and missed. Game over,” Lady Trojans head coach Lisa Abron said.

Ferriday received a scare when freshman guard/post player Kesia Mason, who led the Lady Trojans with 15 points, was hit in the head twice late in the second quarter. The first one she got up from. The second one, a knee to the head, kept Mason out of the game for the entire third quarter. With her absence, the Lady Trojans struggled in the third quarter.

“I kept telling them during time outs that we’ve got one that got knocked down, but they had to step up. When she got back in, we could see the difference,” Abron said.

The Lady Trojans used their press defense to frustrate the Lady Panthers for much of the first half. That allowed Ferriday to jump out to a 16-8 lead after one quarter of play and 26-19 at halftime.

However, with Mason not on the court, Sterlington took advantage and outscored Ferriday 15-10 in the third quarter to cut the Lady Trojans’ lead to 36-34. Abron went to freshman post player Zhane Green from off the bench and with that she had to move some players to other positions.

“She doesn’t play the same position that Kesia plays. We had to do some moving around. I moved her to our other post, Shaniqua Hillard,” Abron said. “She got some rebounds and got one putback, which was crucial, at the end of the third quarter. That gave us a little daylight until Kesia came back in.”

Still, Sterlington was not going to go away quietly. At one point in the third quarter, the Lady Panthers had a four-point lead before the Lady Trojans rallied as the quarter came to an end. And even with Mason back on the floor for Ferriday in the fourth quarter, the Lady Panthers had their chances to pull off the upset. That was until, Griggs, who finished with 14 points, hit the game-winner.

The Lady Trojans (15-2, 1-0) host General Trass for a district match-up next Tuesday night.

Natchez High 63, Brookhaven 39

BROOKHAVEN — Zyaire Ewing and Skylar Morgan led Natchez High School with 12 points each as the Lady Bulldogs rolled to a 63-39 win over the Brookhaven High School Lady Panthers Friday night in MHSAA Division 6-5A action.

Natchez High had a balanced scoring attack in this game with six players finishing with at least six points. Kirdis Clark and Destiny Lyles had 10 points each while Rashonae Rice added eight points and Anniyah Pannell poured in six points.

The Lady Bulldogs had their way with the Lady Panthers on both ends of the court in a dominating first quarter. It did not take long for Natchez High to build up a double-digit lead and by the time the quarter was over, it had a 28-6 lead over Brookhaven.

From that point on, it was a matter of how many points Natchez High would win by. The Lady Bulldogs scored just nine points in the second quarter and were outscored by a Lady Panthers team in two of the final three quarters.

Natchez High (11-1, 2-0) steps out of division play next Tuesday night when it plays host to Vidalia High School.

ACCS 62, Prentiss Christian 14

PRENTISS — Taking on one of the top teams in MAIS Class AA in the Adams County Christian School Lady Rebels proved to be a tall task for the Prentiss Christian School Lady Saints Tuesday night in this District 5-AA contest.

And it definitely showed in the first half as ACCS jumped out to a huge lead and then shut out Prentiss Christian in the second quarter on its way to a 62-14 win that kept the Lady Rebels undefeated in district play.

“To God be the glory in victory or defeat,” Lady Rebels head coach Melanie Hall said. “We executed offensively and defensively. We cut down on our turnovers tremendously. My kids got up and pressured the ball. It was a total team effort. They complimented each other very well.”

Mackenzie Boyd led ACCS with a game-high 14 points while Skylar Adams and Jordan Petty had 10 points each.

The Lady Rebels showed no mercy on the Lady Saints in the first quarter en route to a 30-7 lead. And if could not get any worse for the home team, it did. ACCS outscored Prentiss Christian 17-0 in the second quarter for a 47-7 halftime lead.

ACCS (17-3, 4-0) steps out of district next Tuesday night when it hosts Class AAA Parklane Academy.

Jefferson County 53, Wesson 49

FAYETTE — Antrell Gales led Jefferson County High School with a game-high 21 points as the Lady Tigers held on to defeat the Wesson High School Lady Cobras 53-49 Friday night in their MHSAA Division 7-3A opener.

Jefferson County got off to a good start offensively and led Wesson 16-13 at the end of the first quarter. Both teams struggled to get both shots and free throws to fall in the second quarter, but the Lady Tigers maintained their three-point lead at halftime, 25-22.

Then just when it looked like the home team was about to take over after the Lady Tigers outscored the Lady Cobras 18-13 in the third quarter for a 43-35 advantage, Wesson tried to mount a comeback in the fourth quarter.

But despite limiting Jefferson County to just 10 points in the final quarter, Wesson could not get enough shots to fall itself and managed only 14 points.

Rachel Shelvy chipped in with 15 points and Diamond Smith added eight points.