CARRIERE — When the Natchez High Lady Bulldogs took the floor against Pearl River Central Friday night, they didn’t expect to see a team try to hold the ball for the entirety of the first quarter.

In a 53-27 Natchez win, the (15-1) Lady Bulldogs led 7-2 after a full quarter played because of their opponent’s tactic.

“It was crazy because they held the ball and the fouls were lopsided the entire game,” Natchez head coach Alphaka Moore said. “But everybody on the floor played really well Friday. This was more of a mental game. We just had to play through everything.”

Despite the team’s frustrations, Pearl River Central’s strategy forced Natchez to slow it down, which gave a somewhat slumping Kirdis Clark an opportunity to get her rhythm. That was all she needed, as Clark led the team with 16 points.

“Because of the way we had to play, it allowed her to relax a little bit,” Moore said. “Normally, she’s running up and down the floor.”

Rashonae Rice scored 11 points for the Lady Bulldogs in the win, while Zyaire Ewing provided nine.

With the win, Natchez improves to 4-0 in district.

Ferriday 38, Jonesboro-Hodge 70

JONESBORO — The absence of starting center Shanique Hillard had an immediate affect on (17-4) Ferriday’s defense in a 70-38 loss to Jonesboro-Hodge.

The sophomore missed the game because of a pending surgery next week.

Abron was not sure if the surgery would sideline Hillard for the remainder of the season. Without Hillard, Abron put freshman Zhane Green down low, but Green was fatigued early, as she wasn’t used to playing that many minutes.

After the loss, Abron tried to lift her team’s spirits.

“Like I told them, it’s crunch time now, so we can’t sit around and mope about what happened,” Abron said. “Hopefully, this will serve as a lesson for everyone.”

Jada Griggs led the team with 13 points and Kesia Mason produced 11.

Cathedral 53, St. Aloysius 37

VICKSBURG — Cathedral head coach Randy Smith called Friday night’s 53-37 win against St. Aloysius the best effort he’d seen all year.

“It was our best game so far,” Smith said. “From our hustling to playing defense and handling the ball, we did it all pretty good tonight.”

Cathedral jumped on St. Aloyius 13-4 in the first quarter, and after the Flashes battled back into the game, trailing Cathedral 35-32 in the fourth quarter, Marty Lewis took over, scoring most of her team-leading 16 points in the final quarter.

“She was outstanding,” Smith said. “But really, the whole team played well. If you look at our scoring column, it was very well balanced. It was a complete team effort. We broke the press, and our defense press helped us.”

With the win, Cathedral goes over .500 in district play with a 3-2 record.

McKenzie Milligan scored 13 points in the win, while Elizabeth Smith was dominant in the paint with 14 points.

Jena 54, Vidalia 36

VIDALIA — Though Jena walked away with a 54-36 victory, the Lady Giants didn’t pull away until the fourth quarter.

Jena led 20-11 at the half, before Vidalia made a run in the third quarter to reduce the deficit to six heading into the fourth quarter. However, Jena sealed the deal in the final period, outscoring the Lady Vikings 23-11.

Bre’Honor Harris led the Lady Vikings with 13 points in the loss. Tierra Bell scored 10 and Brianna Tolliver scored nine.

With the loss, Vidalia falls to 4-11 and 0-5 in district play.

Trinity 63, Tensas Academy 59

ST. JOSEPH — D’Asia Mitchell and Dionna Jackson each produced double-figure scorers to lead Trinity past Tensas Academy in a tight win.

Mitchell scored 22 points, while Jackson posted 18 points.

“Those two were great,” Trinity head coach Fay Minor said. “They tore it up offensively in the second half.”

Despite battling foul trouble, Trinity was able to stay one step ahead in the second half, outscoring Tensas 36-32 in final two quarters.

The win for the Lady Saints gives Trinity a 5-0 district record.

“The girls are ecstatic,” Minor said. “We’re just trying to keep it going.”

Silliman Institute 60, Centreville Academy 50

CENTERVILLE — After trailing by four at the half, a 20-point third quarter by Silliman would ultimate-ly doom Centreville Friday night.

In the loss, the Lady Tigers were led by Sydney Lyons with 16 and Katelyn Bell with 13 points.

Block 56, LaSalle 24

JONESVILLE — Three Block players led the team with 14 points each to give the Lady Bears a much-needed victory Friday night.

Vontresia Barber, Kameron Ste-venson and Jazlyn “Pinkie” Savage led Block in scoring totals to help the team improve to 8-11 overall.