SUMMIT &045; The Jefferson County Lady Tigers had already clinched the top seed and regular season crown in Division 7-3A with their win over Hazlehurst Wednesday, but they weren’t in any mood to celebrate just yet.

And it was a good thing as the Lady Tigers, who were without point guard Shaterrica Hall, had to overcome a sluggish first half to defeat the North Pike Lady Jaguars 54-45 Friday night.

Travalyn Smith led Jefferson County with 22 points. Latresha Wilson added 14 points and Paulesha McBride had 12 points.

&uot;This was a big game,&uot; Lady Tigers head coach Flora McKnight said. &uot;We played without our point guard (Hall). She had surgery today for torn cartilage in her knee. It was nothing major. She’ll be back for our (division) tournament. They dedicated this game to her.&uot;

The Lady Tigers (18-5, 11-1) dedicated this game to Hall and they got off to a good start in the first quarter, especially defensively, in taking a 14-6 lead into the second quarter.

North Pike (16-6, 7-3) got back in the game by outscoring Jefferson County 11-8 in the second quarter to cut the lead to five at halftime.

The Lady Tigers, however, got its offense going in the second half to ward off the Lady Jaguars, outscoring the home team 16-13 in the third quarter and 16-15 in the fourth quarter.

&uot;We played well offensively and defensively,&uot; McKnight said. &uot;They played hard. Everyone stepped up. When North Pike got it to within two or three we answered.&uot;

Block 99, Tallulah 37

JONESVILLE, La. &045; Despite not having one of their top scorers, Catessa Branch, the Block Lady Bears cruised to a 99-37 win over the Tallulah High Lady Trojans Friday night in District 4-1A action.

Despite the absence of Branch, who won the dead lift (375 pounds) at the state powerlifting meet, the Lady Bears (13-6, 5-1) got contributions from a lot of players.

Dani McMillin, who Block head coach Veronica Savage described as &uot;awesome,&uot; had a triple-double &045; 42 points, 11 steals and 10 assists.

&uot;There’s not a selfish bone in her body,&uot; Savage said. &uot;The scoring and the stats speak for themselves.&uot;

Queenie Kimbrough had 17 points, 12 rebounds, seven steals, and five assists. Shanira Wilkerson had 12 points, 20 rebounds and 9 assists. Shaterrica Savage had 10 points and seven boards. Melissa Fisher had 11 steals and six boards to go with six points.

&uot;Shaterrica was that drive tonight,&uot; coach Savage said. &uot;She just stepped in. Queenie Kimbrough is one of my guards. Quick hands. She’s the driving force of my defense. I’m just proud of all of them. I love their spirit.&uot;

Natchez 57, Clinton 33

CLINTON &045; In an important division 4-5A game for the Lady Bulldogs, the team’s top two producers were an unlikely pair.

Jasmine Woods and Sharika Hargrave led Natchez with 10 points each, as the Lady Bulldogs’ usual inside force Crystal L. Brown went scoreless.

Natchez (20-3, 4-2 division 4-5A) shut out the Lady Arrows in the second period, 17-0, to take an 18-point lead, 32-14, into halftime.

Natchez’s regular season fate is still up in the air because of today’s showdown between Warren Central and Vicksburg.

If the Missy Gators defeat Warren Central, the Lady Bulldogs win the division .

Tensas Academy 68, WCCA 67 (OT)

WOODVILLE &045; How does a team end up losing a 16-point lead going into the fourth quarter? Well, the Lady Rams of WCCA found out the answer &045; players fouling out.

WCCA led Tensas 42-26 going into the fourth quarter and it looked like the Lady Rams would lock up the third seed from MPSA District 7-1A at South State.

Instead, four Lady Rams fouled out and the Lady Chiefs took advantage by going on a 33-17 run to force overtime tied a 59 and then outscored WCCA 9-8 in the overtime period.

&uot;I wound up finishing with four players on the court,&uot; Lady Rams head coach Sam Byrd IV said. &uot;The girls played with tremendous effort. We just ran out of fouls. It was a great game. It was a good game on both (teams’) part.&uot;

Huntington 62, Pine Hills 27

GLOSTER &045; The Lady Hounds took care of business and made sure they were not caught looking ahead to today’s showdown with Brookhaven Academy as they cruised to a 35-point win Friday in District 7-1A action.

Sarah Ashmore led Huntington (20-7, 11-0) with 16 points and Emily Hazlip added 12 points.

Bogue Chitto 80, Cathedral 31

BOGUE CHITTO &045; The Lady Bobcats (18-2, 7-1) jumped out to a 31-5 lead over the Lady Green Wave (1-16, 0-8) after one quarter of play and never looked back from there en route to a 49-point win in Division 7-1A action Friday night.

Jessica Melton led Bogue Chitto with 22 points. Kelsey Stephens led Cathedral with 14 points.

Wilkinson County 52, Amite County 31

LIBERTY &045; Latasha Williams scored 15 points and Erica Lewis had 13 points as the Lady Wildcats picked up a key Division 7-3A win Friday night to stay in contention for the fourth seed in the division tournament.

Wilkinson County (10-17, 4-7) jumped out to a 16-8 lead after one quarter of play and held that eight-point margin, this time at 25-17, at halftime.

Ferriday 89,

Vidalia 31

FERRIDAY, La. &045; The Lady Trojans motored through the first half of their district schedule and didn’t stop Friday by handling the Lady Vikings (1-15, 0-5).

Ferriday (26-0, 5-0) took a 31-9 lead by the end of the first and later led 49-19 at half.

Three Lady Trojans scored in double figures &045; LaShawnda Pryor with 26, Latasha Cain with 24 and Monique Jones with 16.

Trinity 31, Amite School Center 28

LIBERTY &045; With a South State berth on the line the Lady Saints responded by edging Amite in a close battle throughout.

Mallory Archer had a game-high 17 points to lead the Lady Saints (8-18, 5-6 MPSA district 7-A) to the victory and their fourth consecutive playoff berth.