NATCHEZ – The Ferriday Lady Trojans and the Jefferson County Lady Tigers got the 2001 Natchez High Hoops Classic started off with a bang in Thursday night’s opener, that saw Lisa Abrom’s squad come out on top in a 54-51 nailbiter.

&uot;We just simply had too many turnovers at the end of the ballgame,&uot; Lady Tiger head coach Flora McKnight said.

Abrom had a different take, stating that a critical defensive switch made the difference.

&uot;We shut down (Travalyn Smith) but they were hitting from the outside, so we had to go from the 2-3 to a 1-3-1 matchup zone. That helped us out a lot.&uot; Smith had a game-high 21, while Shaterrica Hall came through with 13. Monique Jones paced the Lady Trojans with 17, while Torisheka Taylor chipped in with 12. Ferriday opened the game by building a small 16-13 lead after one, only to see the lady Tigers storm back in the second, to take a four-point lead at the break.

McKnight’s bunch extended it to a half dozen after three before FHS outscored them 17-8 the rest of the way. Ferriday improved to 6-1, while JCHS dropped to 6-4, a mark McKnight said she was very disappointed in. &uot;We are a better team than this, and we are going to have to play much better.&uot;

Jefferson Co. boys 59, Ferriday 41

A disastrous second frame set the tone for the rest of the game, as Delvin Thompson poured in 26 points down low to set up the Friday night showdown with Natchez.

The Trojans had to rely on their outside shot, which was streaky at best, as they could get nothing going inside against the tough Tiger interior defense.

Calvin Thomas and Ladrian Davis led FHS with 11 points each. Dewones Smith added 13 for Jefferson County, who improved to 5-5.

The Tigers made 2-of-4 free throws, while Ferriday converted 10-of-12.

&uot;We wanted to get out and take away the tempo,&uot; Tigers head coach Marcus Walton said.

&uot;Ferriday is a well-coached team. They like to control the tempo, and we wanted to take that away from them.&uot;

Natchez High Hoops Classic Ferriday 54, Jefferson County 51

FHS 16 9 12 17 54 JCHS 13 16 14 8 51

Ferriday: Monique Jones – 18; Torisheka Taylor – 12; Lashawnda Pryor – 8; Latasha Cain – 6; Roshanda Leonard – 6; Rosalind Johnson – 4 Jefferson County: Travalyn Smith – 21; Shaterrica Hall – 13; Latresha Wilson – 7; Paulesha McBride – 4; Kenyatta Williams – 4; Chasity Combs – 2

Ferriday – 6-1 overall; next – vs. Natchez, 6 p.m. Saturday in the Natchez High Hoops Classic Jefferson County – 6-4 overall; next – vs. Natchez, 6 p.m. today in the Natchez High Hoops Classic

Jefferson County 59, Ferriday 41

FHS 11 8 13 9 41 JCHS 12 16 15 16 59

Jefferson County: Delvin Thompson – 26; Dewones Smith – 13 Ferriday: Jackie Thomas – 11; Ladrian Davis – 11