The Trinity Episcopal Lady Saints and the Huntington Lady Hounds square off today in a key MPSA District 5-1A battle as part of a quadrupleheader between the two schools at Huntington.

Trinity enters the 4 p.m. game with a 17-3 overall record and Huntington is 13-7 overall.

More important, both teams are 5-0 in district play. And with four district games to go after today’s game – including these two teams playing again at Trinity on Jan. 23 – neither team can afford a loss.

&uot;Like I’ve said before, every night you’ve got to be ready to play,&uot; said Lady Saints head coach Melanie Hall. &uot;You’ve got to be mentally and physically ready to go.&uot;

Which have been what the Lady Saints have been for much of the season, especially their last two games.

Offensively, Trinity has been a scoring machine with 90 points against Ben’s Ford last Friday and 70 against Amite School Center last Saturday.

&uot;Trinity’s got a good offensive team,&uot; said Lady Hounds head coach Penny Moak. &uot;We’re going to try to get them out of their half-court game. Our game is full-court press and a fast-break offense.&uot;

Moak said her team cannot afford to play Trinity’s kind of game or the game could be over early.

&uot;You want to come out of your district as the number one seed for the district tournament,&uot; Moak said. Not only is this a district contest, it is a rivalry because of how close the two schools are to each other – Trinity in Natchez and Huntington in Ferriday.

&uot;It’s always a good game when the two schools play,&uot; Hall said. &uot;It’s just exciting. I know I can’t wait.&uot;

Last year, as members of the MPSA’s District 6-1A, Trinity and Huntington met six times, with the Lady Saints winning each game.

&uot;It’s a big rivalry and you never know what’s going to happen,&uot; said Trinity senior guard Sara Greer. &uot;We’re confident about tomorrow. It’s not going to be easy, so we’ve got to play a really tough game.&uot;

Greer said Trinity needs to play good defense because &uot;Huntington’s very, very competitive.&uot;

&uot;It’s been forever, I guess,&uot; said Huntington senior guard Lindsay&160;Paul. &uot;Last year we were a young team. This year we’re still a young team, but we’re better and more experienced.&uot;

&uot;I feel like we’re pretty evenly matched,&uot; Paul added. &uot;Personally, I think we can beat them.&uot;

&uot;It’s unexplainable. It’s huge,&uot; said Trinity junior forward Ashley Kingsafer. &uot;I’m very confident about tomorrow.&uot;

&uot;I think it’s a big deal between the two schools,&uot; said Huntington junior center JoLee Hughes. &uot;I guess it’s because the two towns are so close. We’re trying to see who can outdo each other.&uot;

Trinity junior center Lauren Tanner said the rivalry between the two teams &uot;gets a lot of fans involved. Because both teams are so close, just about everyone comes to the games.&uot;

&uot;We’ve played each other so many times, we know how everyone on the team plays,&uot; said Tanner.

&uot;We were so young last year and they beat us a couple of times,&uot; said Huntington senior forward Julie Noland. &uot;We’re a lot more experienced this year. They think they can beat us, but we don’t think they are.&uot;

&uot;We’re sending the dogs back to the pound,&uot; said Trinity senior center Jennifer Paradise.

&uot;I’m looking forward to joining the Trinity tradition of beating Huntington,&uot; said Trinity junior forward Vanessa Gordon.