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FLORENCE — The Natchez High School Lady Bulldogs got off to a good start earlier this week at the 2024 MHSAA Region 3-5A Tournament at Florence High School while the Natchez High School Bulldogs did enough to earn a berth in the Class 5A Playoffs.

The Natchez High Lady Bulldogs entered the Region 3-5A Tournament as the No. 3 seed. First they took care of the No. 6 seed Provine High School Lady Rams last Monday afternoon to automatically earn a berth in the first round of the next week’s Class 5A State Tournament.

But that wasn’t enough for head coach Alphaka Moore’s team. The Lady Bulldogs (20-7) upset the No. 2 seed Brookhaven High School Lady Panthers last Tuesday afternoon in the girls’ semifinals to not only advance to the championship game at 7 p.m. Friday against No. 1 seed Florence High School, but also guarantee a home game in the first round, which will be on either Friday, Feb. 16 or Saturday, Feb. 17.

The Natchez High School Bulldogs came into the Region 3-5A Tournament as the No. 5 seed and they pulled off a shocker right off the bat as they upset the No. 4 seed and tournament host Florence High School Eagles 60-46.

That win alone earned Natchez High a spot in the first round of the Class 5A State Tournament, which will take place on Saturday, Feb. 17.

Unfortunately, the Bulldogs ran into a buzz saw in No. 1 seed Provine High School in the boys’ semifinal round. Even though Natchez High tried to pull off the upset, it wasn’t meant to be as the Bulldogs fell to the Rams 52-40.

The Bulldogs (14-12) will take on No. 2 seed Brookhaven High School at 5:30 p.m. Friday in the boys’ consolation game. The Panthers were upset by the South Jones High School Braves 57-51 in the other boys’ semifinal-round game.