NATCHEZ &045; Sue Johnson was in no mood to hear about the positives.

The Natchez High girls’ coach could have found solace in her team’s 75-50 loss to a very talented Callaway by comparing it to last year’s score, thinking of a big run her club made late in the third quarter or by defending standout Lady Charger Juanita Ward and her 17 points.

Bunk.

&uot;We went backward tonight,&uot; the first-year head coach said. &uot;It was a good test for us. We knew going in they were a good team and we had to execute well in order to win. Just little things. We do it well one game, and then we’re almost like, ‘What are you talking about?’

&uot;When we get it together, we’ll be all right. February 8 we go up (to Callaway), and I guarantee you it will be a different ball game. I guarantee you. I still say we’re going to be in the Big House.&uot;

It left a bitter taste in the mouth of everyone with the Lady Bulldogs, but you could have hardly asked for a better test in the Lady Chargers with Division 6-5A action tipping off Tuesday night. They were the best team Natchez has played this season, and it’s followed by another test tonight when Wilkinson County pays a visit.

But the Lady Bulldogs know what’s really important &045; Tuesday at Vicksburg.

&uot;They’re a real good team, and we’ve got to take this as a learning experience,&uot; said Jasmine Woods, who tossed in 11 points. &uot;We saw a lot of stuff we did well, and we saw a lot of stuff we can improve on. We know what to do next time. We’ve got district coming up, so this will be a good learning experience.&uot;

Give the Lady Bulldogs credit for playing hard for most of the game and at least making Callaway work for their points early. It wasn’t until late in the first when the Lady Chargers made their first run of the game, coming after a Wennifer Noble bucket with 3:08 left cut the lead to 30-19.

Dominic Cranford hit one of two free throws right after that, and the Lady Chargers finished went on an 11-2 run before Natchez got a bucket from Ke’Airra Jones just before the buzzer for a 41-23 Callaway lead at the break.

&uot;We kind of have problems with small teams and scrappy teams,&uot; Callaway head coach Maxine Johnson said. &uot;We’re larger, but we can’t go inside and rebound and put it back. That’s what we tried to do (in that run) &045; go down low. We wanted to get a better look at the basket and get a better percentage.&uot;

The Lady Chargers also started to play more of a full-court game with the Lady Bulldogs, who had to keep it a full-court game to be competitive with their size disadvantage. It put the Lady Bulldogs in a tough spot trying to keep up with an older, athletic team &045; one that features two Division I signees in Juanita Ward and Cranford.

Buckets from Ward and Kiana James midway through the third quarter put the Lady Chargers’ lead at 51-27 with 3:38 left.

&uot;It was like we got confused with our roles,&uot; Sue Johnson said. &uot;I think we were concentrating on what they were doing instead of what we should have been doing. Once we learn that we have to do what we are supposed to do, we can stop what they are doing. There were a few places that I was very proud of in there, but most places I was kind of disappointed. I know we can do better &045; I know.&uot;

At that point the Lady Bulldogs put their best stretch of game together, and Jones and Noble were responsible for a 9-0 run that trimmed the lead to 15 points. Noble hit the last of two free throws with 1:02 left to cut the lead to 51-36.

But Kiana James put in two buckets for Callaway before the horn sounded for a 55-36 lead heading into the fourth quarter.

&uot;They were pressing, and we ran the floor and threw the ball long to try and get the easy basket,&uot; Maxine Johnson said. &uot;They made a little run, but we wanted to get some younger kids in there to see if they could handle the ball. But they made a little run on us.&uot;

The Lady Chargers went back to pounding it inside for the high-percentage shot in the fourth, and Latresse Hill hit a three-point play with 6:17 left for a 63-38 lead. Hill finished the game with 22 points, while Ward had 17.

Hill had a solid game with the Lady Bulldogs lacking Delequa Drake in the post. Drake was out with an ankle injury suffered Tuesday, and junior guard Erika Lewis was also out with an arm injury.

&uot;We’ve got some quick guards,&uot; Woods said. &uot;We know if they get going, we can get a whole lot of steals. Coach said that was a big problem tonight &045; we’ve got to make the shots we get off of those steals.&uot;