WOODVILLE — The Natchez High School Lady Bulldogs got back to their winning ways Wendesday night with an 80-30 blowout of Wilkinson County.

“We just had some things we had to work out,” Natchez head coach Alphaka Moore said.

The Lady Bulldogs suffered just their third loss in the past three seasons to South Pike last week, but Moore said for an opening game, it was no walk in the park.

“For that to be the first game we played, that was a very good team,” she said.

Skylar Morgan led the Lady Bulldogs with 28 points and also added 10 steals on the defensive end.

Zyaire Ewing had 20 points and Ernesha Chatman chipped in with 17 points.

“It is big when they are all on the same page,” Moore said. “Everybody did a good job and everybody got a lot of experience in this game.”

Natchez High jumped out to an early lead and would never look back, going up 34-6 after the first quarter. The Lady Bulldogs would have another big quarter in the third, racking up another 31 points en route to the win.

Natchez is now 1-1 on the year.

Jefferson County 54, Crystal Springs 20

CRYSTAL SPRINGS — Diamond Smith picked up right where she left off last season.

The senior scored 14 points and recorded 10 blocks as the Jefferson County Lady Tigers cruised past Crystal Springs, 54-20.

“Diamond played well on both ends of the floor tonight,” Jefferson County head coach Flora McKnight said.

Along with Smith, Kailyn Hammett scored 14 points to lead the Lady Tigers.

“That is my point guard,” McKnight said. “When she plays well, we play well. She led the team in assists with 10, too, so she made it easy for the rest of the team.”

What McKnight was most pleased with, though, was the team’s effort on the defensive end of the floor.

“The defense is our offense,” she said. “We played well on that side. For our first regular season game, we played well.”

Tensas 60, Ferriday 44

TENSAS, La. —With almost a completely new look this season, Ferriday girls basketball coach Lisa Abron knows a challenge awaits.

The Lady Trojans ran into their first challenge of the season in Tensas High Wednesday, but fell 60-44.

“Turnovers,” Abron said. “That hurt us throughout the game. We had way too many turnovers, especially in the beginning.”

Tensas capitalized on the Ferriday mistakes and put up 21 points in the first quarter.

However, Ferriday fought back in the second, holding the Lady Panthers to just six points in the quarter, while scoring 12 of their own to claw back within two points at 27-25.

“We went to our pressure defense to scratch and fight back,” Abron said. “But then fatigue set in.”

With a lack of experienced players, Abron was forced to depend on youth, while Tensas, a veteran team, took advantage, scoring 17 and 16 points in the final two quarters to seal the victory.

“It is early and we still have a lot to work on,” Abron said.

Shaniqua Hilliard led Ferriday with 12 points and Zhane Green chipped in with 10.

Lone Lady Trojan senior Lakeshanna Harris added nine.

“Shaniqua and Lakeshanna are the only ones with experience,” Abron said. “So I am depending on them heavily.”

With the loss, Ferriday falls to 0-1 on the year.

Port Gibson 60, Delta Charter 24

PORT GIBSON — The first taste of varsity basketball for Delta Charter School was a sour one, as the Storm fell 60-24 against Port Gibson.

“I thought we did good in the first quarter, but our big girls got in foul trouble,” Delta Charter head coach Ron Ellis said. “They had bigger girls and a speed advantage at all positions. But it was our first varsity game. It was good for them. I wanted them to see competition early.”

Kiaci Parker and Cloi Cummings led the Storm with five points each.