CARTHAGE — Thomastown had too much athleticism and too much experience for Cathedral to handle and it showed in the Lady Bulldogs’ 59-33 win over the Lady Green Wave Monday night in the first round of the MHSAA Class 1A South State Playoffs.

Led by Viola Brown, Brittany Henry and Mircae Anderson, Region 6-1A runner-up Thomastown jumped out to a 17-6 lead over Cathedral at the end of the first quarter and never looked back from there.

“We get one shot down the floor and they get running down the floor. They’re very athletic and physical,” Cathedral head coach Kathy Graning said. “They were 10 out of 12 on free throws in the first half and 13 out of 16 altogether.”

Brown led all scorers with 17 points while Henry added 15 points and Anderson chipped in with 10 points. Thomastown will take on the winner of the West Oktibbeha-Sebastopol game in the first round of the Class 1A South State Tournament Thursday at 5:30 p.m.

“They’ve been playing together for several years. They’ve been to South State a couple of times,” Graning said.

It was a tough loss for Cathedral, which was the No. 3 seed out of Region 8-1A. The Lady Green Wave finished with an 11-17 overall record. Mae Durkin led them with nine points while Epiphany Jackson, Ginny Daggett and Ana Perry each finished with six points.

“We’re not quite prepared like we need to be. Against some teams, we got away with that. Once you get to this point, you’ve got to be prepared to play basketball,” Graning said.

Morton girls 58, Franklin County 48

MEADVILLE — Franklin County had no answer for Morton’s Candas Lloyd, who scored a game-high 23 points in the Lady Panthers’ upset win over the Lady Dawgs Monday night in the first round of the Class 3A South State Playoffs.

The Lady Dawgs, the runners-up in Region 7-3A, also had a hard time getting their shots to fall, and that was something else head coach Charles Moore felt was a key factor in the outcome of the game.

“It was one of those nights where we could not get our shots to fall,” Moore said. “We had good looks at the basket. They just wouldn’t fall.”

The first quarter ended with the score tied at 8-8 and Morton wound up with a 24-22 halftime lead. With Lloyd as well as Whitney Warnsley leading the way, the Lady Panthers outscored the Lady Dawgs 15-9 in the pivotal third quarter for a 39-31 lead. Warnsley finished with 11 points for Morton, the No. 3 seed from Region 5-3A.

“Defensively, we had a hard time stopping Lloyd, keeping her out of the paint,” Moore said.

Morton made sure there would be no comeback attempt by Franklin County in the fourth quarter. The Lady Panthers outscored the Lady Dawgs 19-17 in the final eight minutes.

Vintrice Briggs led Franklin County (15-13) with 18 points and Monique Starks had 12 points.

Morton will take on the winner of the Sumrall-Raymond game at 8:30 p.m. Thursday in the first round of the Class 3A South State Tournament.