You won’t hear the Tensas Academy girls complaining about having the odds stacked against them in this week’s MPSA Overall tournament.

The Lady Chiefs come in as the lowest-seeded team in the lowest classification. As the No. 4 seed out of Class A &045; the last team to get in &045; the Lady Chiefs will face Simpson Academy today in the first contest at the tournament at Mississippi College. If the Lady Chiefs win, the draw gets even tougher against Class AAA champion Pillow Academy.

They’re not complaining because things could be plenty worse &045; they could be at home today not even playing basketball and not be one of the two Miss-Lou teams playing at the MPSA’s version of the big dance.

&uot;The girls are excited,&uot; said TA head coach Chuck Bauerle, who was coach for the team’s previous Overall appearance back in 1998 when current MC standout Robin Rae Burns starred as a sophomore.

&uot;We’re going in to win, don’t know if we can, but we’ll see when we get there. I haven’t seen them play but have a few scouting reports. It’s tough playing against bigger schools. They have so much more talent. But it’ll be exciting for the girls. It’s fun to be over there in that big coliseum.&uot;

The Tensas girls scrapped as much as they could last week to get into position to make Overall. In the 12-team field in the Class A tournament, the Lady Chiefs had to get two wins to get into the final four field to make the Overall &045; much like they did at South State when they qualified as one of the top four teams.

But much like at South State, the Lady Chiefs just became victims of a rigorous schedule. After giving everything they had in a 50-42 loss to a good Claiborne team, they dropped a 48-34 decision to Kemper in the consolation game Saturday afternoon.

&uot;We kind of went through the same thing at the state tournament as we did at South State,&uot; Bauerle said. &uot;We were just leg-dead. We really were. We spent a lot of energy trying to come back with Claiborne and just about got to them, but on Saturday were a little half-step slower.&uot;

The day of rest &045; albeit just Sunday &045; should be a plus for a team that has made a living off its quickness and defense this season. The Lady Chiefs couldn’t do much of that against Kemper on Saturday with their dead legs, but it could make a difference today against Simpson.

The again, at this point most teams can handle the press. It could just come down to who can execute better in their half-court sets.

&uot;When you play better teams, of course you can play better teams who have better ball handlers who can press you,&uot; Bauerle said. &uot;Even against Claiborne, we pressed them the last quarter and really rattled them. But it comes down to half-court offense and defense. The pressing and getting turnovers doesn’t happen much against the better teams.

&uot;I told the girls we’ve played some good teams, too. We’re happy to be here. We might get beat by 30, but we’ll give it our all.&uot;

On the boys’ side, Trinity Episcopal makes it second straight appearance at Overall and will play at 1 p.m. Tuesday against Madison-Ridgeland Academy, the No. 4 team out of Class AAA.

But you’ll find quite a contrast in comparing this year’s Saints to last year’s Overall quarterfinalist. It’s not just the players who didn’t return, but it’s the emergence of the others that don’t get talked about too much.

Gregory Ketchings has stepped into the point guard position and kept things smooth, and Ryan Rachal has upped his scoring significantly over a year ago. Throw in improved play from Zach Rogel and Stevan Ridley, the emergence of exchange student Robert Manson and an improved Wyatt Craig off the bench, and the team is awfully competitive.

&uot;These seniors &045; we challenged them every single day,&uot; TE head coach David King said. &uot;Those guys played in a state championship in football. They had a lot of doubters in November, and we used that to our advantage. Every day we worked hard in practice, and that’s the only way you can get it. The kids have done everything we asked.&uot;

INSIDE IRRIE &045; You can’t really say Bogue Chitto’s Bobcats are a one-man team, although there’s no way to discount the contributions of tall and lanky Irrie Catchings. The big guy underneath hurt teams all last week at the Region 7-1A tournament, and he did the same to Cathedral in the championship game on Friday.

Not a stranger to anyone after he starred for the Bobcats in football, Catchings didn’t have many defenders who could match up with his height and jumping ability. Throw in his accuracy from about six feet or so, and he made it pretty tough on the opposition.

Cathedral had some success in its zone that featured a double-team on him in the low post.

&uot;He’s averaging about 24 points and 13 rebounds,&uot; BC head coach Jason Kennedy said. &uot;He’s a natural. He shows up when I need him. Every time we play teams do that (to him), and he still finds a way to score. We were so patient (Friday). We probably moved it six or seven times around the perimeter until we got a layup.&uot;

BOO BIRDS &045; Like at any other venue, Trinity post Robert Manson got the crowd’s attention when he did or didn’t get a foul in Saturday night’s Class A consolation championship against Winston Academy.

The Patriots didn’t have anyone to match up against the big Australian exchange student, and his solid moves to the basket on offense and shot-blocking ability on defense made the difference. He finished with 12 points along with forward Stevan Ridley’s 12 as the Saints went inside from the second half on.

The Saints did get a 3-pointer in the second half, but Winston was throwing a number of defenses at them almost every trip down the floor.

&uot;Just get it inside &045; that’s what we’ve been doing well,&uot; Rachal said. &uot;Very few have (stopped them).&uot;