RAYVILLE, La. — Friday afternoon’s MAIS Class A South State girls’ semifinal game between No. 4 Claiborne Academy and No. 1 Trinity Episcopal wasn’t exactly a high-scoring game.

Instead, it was a hard-fought defensive battle, with Trinity edging Claiborn 32-27 to advance to today’s championship game against third-ranked and District 7-A champion Riverdale Academy at 2:15 p.m.

Bethany Ogden had a double-double and Madelyn Cross finished one point shy of having a double-double of her own. Ogden scored a game-high 18 points and grabbed 10 rebounds. Cross ended up with nine points and 10 rebounds.

Alex Taunton and Milicent Butler led Claiborne Academy (20-6) with seven points each.

Franklin County 52,

Wilkinson County 45

HAZLEHURST — Franklin County rode the shoulders of Vintrice Briggs and Jessica Jackson in the second half as the No. 1 team in Class 3A and No. 1 seed defeated the Lady Wildcats to win their second straight region championship.

The Lady Dawgs, also ranked No. 7 in the Clarion-Ledger’s Girls’ Super 10 poll, took a 12-10 lead over Wilkinson County at the end of one, but the Lady Wildcats outscored them 8-5 in the second quarter to take an 18-17 halftime lead.

Franklin County head coach Charles Moore attributed that to poor shooting in the first half.

“We couldn’t buy a basket in the first half. We went 1-for-12 from the 3-point line,” Moore said. “In the third quarter, we went to Vintrice. Going inside was the key to the third quarter. She and Jessica did a great job inside for us.”

Briggs scored 18 of her game-high 20 points after halftime while Jackson finished with 10 points. The Lady Dawgs ended up with a 22-10 advantage in the third quarter for a 39-30 lead. Wilkinson County outscored Franklin County 17-13 in the fourth quarter, but it was not enough.

Lineasia Palmer and Tyesha Harris led third-seeded Wilkinson County with 16 points apiece.

Franklin County (23-1) will host Perry Central Monday at 7 p.m. while Wilkinson County hosts West Marion, also at 7 p.m. Monday, in the first round of the Class 3A South State Playoffs.

Jim Hill 54, Natchez High 51

TERRY — The Natchez High Lady Bulldogs couldn’t take advantage of scoring opportunities against Jim Hill in the girls’ championship game of the Division 6-6A Tournament Friday night.

“They played hard and they hustled. But we blew a lot of opportunities. We missed 11 free throws and 12 lay-ups. That was the ball game. We missed our free throws and they made theirs,” Lady Bulldogs head coach Sue Johnson said. “With free throws, you have to stay focused.”

Natchez High (19-6) will take on either Meridian or Hattiesburg in a Class 6A South State first-round game next Monday.

Sebastopol 44, Cathedral 35

JACKSON — Turnovers and a lack of transition defense in the third quarter proved to be costly as for Cathedral as it lost to the Lady Bobcats in the at the MHSAA Region 7-1A Tournament to finish in fourth place.

“It looked like it was going to be a good game. They just happened to outscore us in the third quarter,” Lady Green Wave head coach Bernita Dunbar said.

Ginny Daggett led Cathedral (9-17) with 11 points and Epiphany Jackson had seven points. Sebastopol (17-9) was led by Katarina Pace, who led all scorers with 13 points, while Lexus Kennedy and Cyndel Webb added eight points apiece.

Cathedral will be on the road in the first round of the Class 1A South State Playoffs against Region 8-1A champion Salem next Monday at a time to be determined.

Monterey 61, Oak Hill 51

MONTEREY, La. — Kendall Lipsey finished with a game-high 18 points and Kristin Russell added 14 points as the Monterey Lady Wolves defeated the Oak Hill Lady Rams Friday night in a District 6-B game.

With the win, Monterey finished in a tie for second place with Glenmora at 6-4 in district play and the two teams will face each other to break the tie today at 6 p.m. The game will be held at Pineville High School.

The third quarter proved to be a key factor as Monterey held Oak Hill to eight points in building its lead to nine points at the end of the quarter.

Kristen Lipsey ended up with 12 points for the Lady Wolves (23-5). Oak Hill was led by Bailey Johnson and Jaden Lashley with 12 points each.