Ouch.

Starting this morning several prep basketball teams in the Miss-Lou are trying to regroup a bit after taking lumps last week, especially Friday night, now that teams are getting into the portion of their schedule that matters most.

We’re in division or district games, whichever organization you’re in.

Both Natchez High teams dropped critical bouts Friday at Warren Central with the Lady Bulldogs falling in overtime for just their second loss of the season. Adams County Christian School’s boys lost a tough one at Hillcrest to finish 0-2 for the week.

Jefferson County’s boys appeared to be getting things together after pounding Port Gibson two weeks ago, but the Tigers went 0-2 last week with losses to Franklin County and Amite County.

Even Trinity Episcopal’s boys went 3-1 for the week but dropped another decision to Jackson Academy in third game against the Raiders.

But we’re not being negative here.

ACCS’ girls got a big win Friday over Hillcrest in Jackson (we got no scores from either game), and Huntington’s Lady Hounds appear to be back on track after a 2-0 week.

Granted, the first win came over a hapless Pine Hills squad, but the Lady Hounds followed with a commanding win over WCCA in preparation for a showdown with second-place Tensas Academy Tuesday in St. Joseph, La.

A win would help them erase the memory of a disastrous weekend at the WCCA Shootout Jan. 3-4 where they were sluggish after the holiday break in losses to Central Private and Centreville.

&uot;I guess that’s one way of looking at it,&uot; Huntington head coach Michael McAnally said. &uot;We’re not going to make excuses about it. We just got out-played. Now we’ve settled into a bit more of a rhythm. You play, then you have a Thanksgiving break, you play and then you have a Christmas break. We’re through that, and hopefully our better playing days are ahead of us.&uot;

RUNNING GAME &045; Monique Jones and her crew of Lady Trojans probably will never have to worry about losing a game this season because of conditioning.

Some in Ferriday wonder whether the girls’ basketball team is anxious at all about dropping a contest, period.

Through 20 games, the Lady Trojans have been stellar. They’re undefeated and have won most games by a considerable margin.

Jones said it all begins in practice, specifically during conditioning drills.

&uot;You have to be in shape if you want to play for me,&uot; Ferriday head coach Lisa Abron said. &uot;We do a lot of running because that’s the way we play. Our strength coach did a good job with us over the summer. That’s what it takes to make a champion.&uot;

In the course of practice the Lady Trojans run 17 consecutive sprints across the width of the court, six laps the length of the court &045; down and back &045; under 30 seconds and two laps &045; down and back &045; within 10 seconds.

The killer is a defensive drill where the Lady Trojans must slide-step from the baseline corner to the halfcourt corner to the other baseline corner under a short time length.

&uot;If we do it in practice it comes natural in the game,&uot; said Jones, who dropped 21 on class 4A Wossman from Monroe Friday night. &uot;When I see the other team wearing down in a game that’s when I tell my teammates to keep it up to take them out of their game.&uot;

ROLL THE DICE &045; Trinity Episcopal’s boys carried only six players to Ben’s Ford Friday night in Bogalusa, La., and left the four star juniors &045; Chase Brown, Dudley Guice Jr., Ryan Rachal and Gregory Ketchings &045; home for the night.

The reasoning? The contest was the third in three days for the Saints, who had played in the Jackson Academy tournament Wednesday and Thursday.

And the Saints had another game Saturday at the JA tournament against Delta.

And fortunately for everyone, things worked out fine &045; the Saints beat Ben’s Ford Friday, 44-35, and Delta Academy Saturday, 54-41.

&uot;We just let them rest up,&uot; said King, who went with a lineup at Ben’s Ford of Mike Lickliter, Marcus Archer, Wyatt Craig, Lee Jones and Zach Rogel.

&uot;We played four games in four days, and two of them were against teams ranked in the Top 5. We took a chance doing that Friday, but we felt strong about our guys. They work had against our starters in practice. I thought it was a good

opportunity for our sophomores to face some pressure.&uot;

(Chuck Corder contributed to this report.)