NATCHEZ — The Cathedral School girls’ basketball team was not able to muster much offense Friday night, but a strong defensive performance ended up being the difference.

Cathedral scored just 26 points, but held Loyd Star to 24, and the Green Wave managed a final defensive stand with less than 10 seconds to go in the game.

“We played good defense,” head coach Randy Smith said. “And Akua (Kumi) got that key rebound at the end that saved the game.”

Kumi grabbed the board after Loyd Star’s Marcey Givens missed a shot that would have tied the game.

Cathedral jumped out to a 17-10 lead by halftime with most of the offense coming from Kennedy Gray. Gray had eight of her 12 points in the first half.

Smith was happy to see his players working together better on offense, despite missing a few shots.

“Our forwards moved together better tonight,” he said.

Senior Taylor Beesley also managed to find a few openings and scored seven points.

“We got Taylor open a few more times,” Smith said.

The win was big for Cathedral, who has struggled against Loyd Star in the past.

“It helps our program,” Smith said. “We usually lose to Loyd Star, but they are pretty young this year.

“We are trying hard and getting better at the junior varsity and high school level.”

It was also a benchmark win for Smith and the Lady Wave.

“We have two wins before Christmas,” he said. “Last year we didn’t have any.”

Kumi finished the game with three points for Cathedral, while Sally Stout and Sara Beth Willard each had two.

Cathedral (2-2) will host Centreville Academy Nov. 26.

Loyd Star boys 56,

Cathedral 33

The Cathedral School boys basketball team played well for the first 14 minutes of Friday night’s contest with Loyd Star. But unfortunately for the Green Wave, the game lasted 18 more minutes, and Loyd Star dominated that stretch.

Cathedral led 23-18 late in the second quarter, but the Hornets went on a 38-10 run to end the contest and win 56-33.

“We went from two minutes left in the second until over a minute into the fourth quarter without scoring a point,” Cathedral head coach Peter Arnold said. “For the first 14 minutes we played a solid game.”

After scoring 11 points in the first quarter and 12 in the second, Cathedral went scoreless in the third.

“It was turnovers, poor shot selection and the inability to put the ball in the hole,” Arnold said. “It was a combination of all three.”

The loss dropped Cathedral to 0-3 on the season, and Arnold said he spoke to his team after the game about its situation this season.

“We talked after the game about how we are in a rebuilding stage, and that’s the reality of it,” he said. “All of our starters (from last year) graduated, and we are very young. We’ve got talent. We just don’t have experience.”

Jarrell Johnson led Cathedral offensively with nine points. Sam Fury and D.J. Batteste each had seven points for the Green Wave.