FERRIDAY, La. &045; There are those nights on the basketball court when everything pours in the hoop like a monsoon.

Nights when the bucket looks larger than the rings of Saturn.

Tuesday was not one of those evenings for either Tensas or Huntington’s girls in the Mississippi Private School Association District 7-A matchup.

Instead, the Lady Chiefs (16-4, 6-0) used their blanketing defensive pressure to force Huntington (9-11, 2-4) into poor shots and turnovers during a 41-25 road victory.

&uot;We’re going to be up and down the court with them all night,&uot; Tensas head coach Chuck Bauerle said. &uot;We want to pressure the ball.&uot;

That they did, contributing to the Lady Hounds’ inability to in-bound the ball before the allotted five seconds expired on three separate occasions.

No player scored in double figures for either team, as Lady Chief Megan Bauerle led all players with 9 points.

Whitney Bradford was Huntington’s top scorer with 5 points, as the Lady Hounds went nearly the entire third period without any points.

Bradford’s off-balanced putback with 54 seconds remaining in the quarter drew Huntington within 16, 30-14.

&uot;I figured we were like 8 of 41, and that’s below 20 percent,&uot; Lady Hounds head coach Penny Moak said. &uot;Our defense didn’t do a bad job. (Tensas has) good shooters, and we had too many turnovers and mental mistakes.&uot;

Things were fine and dandy for Huntington early on, as it matched basket-for-basket with the Lady Chiefs &045; who have beaten and lost in overtime to Class AAA Adams County Christian this season &045; in the first quarter.

Still, field goals were few and far between, as the Lady Hounds notched their first bucket with 58 seconds left in the first when Amber McGlothin’s deuce tied the game at 6.

Tensas put some breathing room between itself and Huntington in the second period when the Lady Hounds underwent their turnover woes.

A 3-pointer from Tensas’ Aubrey McEacharn, who had five points, broke an 8-all affair 23 seconds into the second.

The Lady Chiefs continued to expand their lead, working the ball around the perimeter until an open look came available.

&uot;I’ve got three or four girls that can really handle the ball,&uot; Bauerle said. &uot;In this league that pays off a lot.&uot;

Lady Hound Erin Hedrick, who has been Huntington’s go-to player on the inside this season, was held without a field goal the entire game.

The junior, who had a 100-degree body temperature during Tuesday, finished with four points, which came only free throws in the first period.

&uot;I thought she had a good first quarter. She was hustling all over the court,&uot; Moak said of Hedrick. &uot;But she had to come out for us because she couldn’t go every minute&uot; due to the fever.

Coach Chuck Bauerle said it was his intention to collapse the Tensas defense on Hedrick every time she touched the ball.

&uot;We wanted to keep Hedrick out of the ball game,&uot; he said. &uot;We didn’t have a good offensive night. But I think we were able to wear them down a bit.&uot;

That showed in the first seven minutes coming out of the break, when the Lady Chiefs began working the ball into the paint.

The Lady Hounds rushed their offensive possessions, which led to transition opportunities for Tensas.

Megan Bauerle, who scored all her points in the second half, drove the lane for a layup with 3:08 to put the Lady Chiefs up 28-12.

&uot;I knew last year when I saw them in track they were going to be dangerous,&uot; Moak said of Tensas. &uot;I’ve coached teams like that in the past, and it’s definitely an asset.&uot;

Huntington got as close as 13, 30-17, in the fourth when Bradford hit a triple before the Lady Chiefs quickly built the gap back up to 20.

&uot;I felt like our girls play hard; they hustled out there. It just wasn’t all there tonight,&uot; Moak said. &uot;That third quarter did us in. I think we got tired and it effected us.&uot;