NATCHEZ — Trinity Episcopal girls basketball coach Richy Spears didn’t like what he was seeing from his starting five.

They were being outplayed by Cathedral and were tied 2-2 halfway through the first quarter.

So he sent a message by pulling his five starters out at the same time and sitting them for two minutes.

Message delivered.

The starters returned to the game breathing fire and quickly went on a 14-0 run to put the game away in what turned out to be a 61-33 rout in the first game between the two schools.

“I was trying to send a message to them,” Spears said. “They weren’t playing the way they’ve been playing. They weren’t being aggressive and weren’t hustling. I think (pulling them out of the game) got their attention.”

Cathedral tried to hang with Trinity through the second quarter, but lost contact with the Lady Saints in the third period, when they were outscored 22-4.

“We’re just not where we need to be this time of year,” Cathedral coach Kathy Graning said. “We’ve got to get some more practice time in with all 11 players. We’ve had players miss time with sickness and other problems. But if we can finish strong and play like we’re capable of, we should finish third in our district.”

Madelyn Cross led Trinity with 16 points while Caroline Ketchings scored 15 and Sidney McLeod chipped in eight.

Cathedral was led by Ginny Daggett with 13 points and Epiphany Jackson with eight.

Trinity boys 90, Cathedral 45

It was close for one quarter, but Trinity’s explosive offense took charge in the second and third quarters in a 45-point victory.

Trinity led just 19-10 after the first eight minutes, but outscored Cathedral 59-25 in the second and third quarters before cruising to the finish line in the fourth.

“We started off sluggish but we got things going,” Trinity coach David King said. “Give Cathedral credit, they played their hearts out and played with intensity.”

Cathedral coach Peter Arnold was disappointed in the way his young team handled Trinity’s pressure defense, especially in the middle two quarters.

“We just crumbled under the pressure,” Arnold said. “I couldn’t understand our lack of competitiveness. We fumbled balls and had ridiculously poor passes. We didn’t play anywhere near to where we were capable of.”

Brandon Daggs led four Trinity scorers in double figures with 20 points along with Givonni Dent with 15, Andrew Johnson with 14 and Kent King with 10.

Cathedral was led by Carl Hammitte with 11 points and Stowers Mohon with eight.

Despite the lopsided score of both games, coaches from both schools said the first game between the teams was a great success.

“It was absolutely worth doing,” Arnold said. “To bring all these people together was great. It was probably the biggest crowd either team has played in front of this year. It was a great atmosphere.”

King was equally impressed with the atmosphere and festivities inside the packed gym.

“Cathedral has outstanding facilities and runs a class program,” King said. “The crowd was outstanding and it was a great experience for both schools.”

And look for that experience to continue in the future, if Arnold has anything to do with it.

“I would love to continue to play them, and the other private schools in the area,” Arnold said. “I don’t see how we could go wrong.”