NATCHEZ &045; Had the Copiah Lady Colonels did what people expected them to do, things might have gotten a little more exciting.

Instead, the Lady Colonels lit it up from the outside against Adams County Christian School’s zone defense early before taking a 58-45 win in MPSA District 2-AAA play Thursday night.

&uot;They came out on fire,&uot; ACCS head coach Bruce Pickle said. &uot;It was unbelievable. He (Copiah’s coach) said they hadn’t shot that well all year. But it’s like I told the girls after the game &045; in the first half they couldn’t have shot the ball better. I thought we played as hard as we can play and played well. I was very, very proud of their effort.&uot;

The Lady Rebels (8-5, 0-3), still without the services of starters Nikki Hankins and Heather Holloway, fell behind 20-11 at the end of the first quarter after Copiah drained four 3-pointers.

The Lady Colonels (11-7, 1-1) extended the lead a bit in the second quarter with a 13-11 run for a 33-22 halftime lead.

&uot;We were trying to match up,&uot; Pickle said. &uot;We were concerned about (Carley) Clayton, and they had three other girls hit their first shots for a 3-pointer. We played some man (after that), and it got us back in the game. But we got in foul trouble.&uot;

The Lady Rebels cut the lead down to two at one point in the second half. They outscored Copiah 13-8 in the third to trim the lead to 46-35 heading into the fourth quarter.

Then the foul troubles hit as Meghan Marchbanks, Casey Stutzman and Krystal Truitt each got in foul trouble and had to spend time on the bench with four fouls.

Copiah ended up cashing in from the free throw line to seal it. The Lady Colonels hit 23 of 35 shots from the line, while ACCS hit five of nine.

&uot;It’s kind of hard to stop a free throw,&uot; Pickle said.

Clayton led Copiah with 18 points, while ACCS’ top scorer was Stutzman and Kim Robertson with 13 apiece.

ACCS boys 52, Copiah 46

The Rebels used two strong quarters in the middle to put away the struggling Colonels for a district win Tuesday.

Both teams were tied at 13 at the end of the first quarter, but the Rebels (6-3, 1-2) held a 16-13 edge in the second quarter to take a 29-26 lead at the break.

Their 11-4 run in the third quarter gave them breathing room with a 40-30 lead heading into the fourth quarter.

Beau Brashier led ACCS with 11 points.

Copiah’s top scorer was Kevin Jones with 22 points.