NATCHEZ &045; Before Delequa Drake lined up for the opening tipoff, she had to wipe the tears from her eyes.

But she wasn’t the only one. Dry eyes on the Natchez High bench were hard to come by at the start of Friday’s game against Jefferson County, a contest just a day after longtime head coach Mary Irving passed away after a lengthy illness.

It was an emotional night for the Lady Bulldogs and many at the school’s gym, and after a slow start to the game they just kept thinking what Irving would say in situations like these.

Just keep working hard.

&uot;We all took it real hard because we expected Coach Irving to come home &045; if not this year then next year,&uot; said junior Jasmine Woods, whose 18 points paced the Lady Bulldogs to a 57-42 win.

&uot;We weren’t expecting it. It was like we realized how bad we wanted to win this game. We wanted to do it for coach. We knew Coach Irving believed in us. That first part of the season was disappointing, but she believed in us.&uot;

The game was tough to play, but coaches and players chose to go ahead with it after news spread by early afternoon Thursday’s of Irving’s death. Players, coaches and supporters wore items in her memory for the contest &045; coaches had small black ribbons pinned on their shirts, and players had black bands around their collars with the message in her memory.

Alderman Ricky Gray held a moment of silence before the game, and players had messages written on their shoes in her memory.

Tuesday game at Callaway has been cancelled, and instead a memorial ceremony will be held at 6:30 p.m. Tuesday in Irving’s honor.

&uot;It came as sort of a shock,&uot; junior post Delequa Drake said. &uot;Coach told us to go out and play like she would have wanted us to play. It was really hard to recognize the fact that she’s gone, but you’ve got to realize life must go on. As far as our team, we hadn’t talked to her since the Hattiesburg tournament (after Christmas), but she told us even though she wasn’t here in body, she was with us in spirit.&uot;

The game was tough for the Lady Bulldogs (8-11) to get into rhythm, and they really didn’t get to playing well until the second half after holding a one-point lead at the break. The Lady Tigers (4-23) took a four-point lead early in the second half.

&uot;Yesterday was a tough day for all of us,&uot; NHS assistant coach Yvonne Chatman said. &uot;We talked and were able to express our feelings. We just knew we had to come out and focus. We had the support of the crowd. It was tough going out on that floor, but her presence was here. I could feel it.

&uot;A couple girls wanted to do this badly for her. I think that’s one reason why we came out a little flat tonight. This has been such an emotional time for us.&uot;

Halftime gave the team a chance to get back focused, and by midway through the third quarter Chatman and assistant Steve McClatchy switched their defense to a full-court man-to-man defense.

It’s a defense that was pivotal in the Lady Bulldogs’ huge win over Forest Hill last week, and it worked again on Friday night.

&uot;We didn’t adjust to it,&uot; JC forward Ayesha Fountain said. &uot;We had a couple of young guards. With turnover after turnover, it gets in your head. As captain, I tried to talk to them and make them understand a good basketball team can handle a press. Just because you make a mistake, you should learn from it and adjust to it.&uot;

The Lady Tigers took a 29-25 lead with 4:53 left on a bucket from Michelle Gaines, and that’s when Natchez turned the momentum. Jasmine Woods put in a bucket before Ke’Airra Jones converted a layup off a steal to tie it up at 29.

Jasmine Williams converted a three-point play with 1:34 left for a 34-29 lead, and Drake hit two free throws with three seconds left for a 36-31 lead heading into the fourth quarter.

&uot;I just feel like with our quickness and our speed we could step up the defensive intensity and get our offense going,&uot; Chatman said. &uot;We had some easy shots and transition baskets off our full-court man. We’ve been working on our man-to-man defense every day in practice. Our girls like to play man to man. It gets them fired up.&uot;

The Lady Bulldogs kept with the pressure and went inside in their half-court offense to Woods, who had half of her 18 in the fourth quarter.

It was just another reminder at halftime for a team that was trying to focus on a game and not the loss of their coach. That five-point lead after three turned into a 15-point lead at the 2:54 mark when Woods got a feed from Jones off a steal to put it in for a 51-36 lead.

&uot;We came out and played ball,&uot; Chatman said. &uot;That’s what she would have wanted us to do &045; come out and play ball.&uot;