NATCHEZ &045; You can put it down as a small step, although Cathedral head coach Kathy Graning doesn’t want anyone to be satisfied.

Up against a Bogue Chitto program that has traditionally drubbed a Cathedral team, this time the Lady Wave trailed 17-10 at halftime before losing 38-22 in a Division 7-1A contest. The Lady Wave fared better in the first half, especially in the first quarter, before some turnovers and missed shots kept Bogue Chitto in the lead.

Yet the Lady Wave (1-9, 0-2) &045; with no seniors on the roster &045; will keep on working.

&uot;We’re getting there,&uot; said Graning, in her first year at the helm. &uot;We’re doing some silly things, silly passes and not looking where we’re throwing it. We really did a good job of rebounding and blocking out in the first half. The defense is coming along. But they got a lot of easy buckets because we didn’t pick up the screens.&uot;

The Lady Bobcats didn’t get anything going offensively from the outside, but they kept pounding it in down the blocks. Tanesha Johnson accounted for eight of her team’s 13 points in the second quarter, and she hit five free throws in the third quarter as the Lady Bobcats led 26-16 heading into the fourth quarter.

Kristian Dobard put in a basket for Cathedral at the 3:39 mark to trim the lead to 23-16, but Johnson hit two free throws at the 3:02 mark and another a minute later to help build the 10-point lead.

&uot;We played absolutely sloppy, but Tanesha Johnson stepped up,&uot; BC head coach Christy Terrell said. &uot;She played the inside game very well. I think we were eager for the Christmas break, and it showed. We’re just lucky to come out with a win with the way we played.&uot;

Franklin County 65, North Pike 52

MEADVILLE &045; Franklin County took a double-digit lead at halftime and made sure North Pike was not able to rally in the second half.

Britta Stephens had 15 points and Tenecia Leonard had 14 points for North Pike, which got behind early and stayed there the rest of the game.

Franklin County took a 14-8 lead at the end of the first quarter and then put the game away by outscoring North Pike 23-16 in the second quarter for a 37-24 halftime lead.

Huntington 53, Canton Academy 46

FERRIDAY, La. &045; For the second straight night, the Lady Panthers did not look like a three-win team as they stayed right with the Lady Hounds throughout the first half and trailed by only six points at halftime.

But just like Thursday night at Adams Christian, the third quarter proved to be Canton’s undoing as Huntington used a 13-4 advantage to up its lead to 15 and essentially put the game away.

Trinity 54, Oak Forest 26

NATCHEZ &045; The second quarter was the difference as Trinity (9-4, 2-1) outscored Oak Forest 13-0 and really put this MPSA District 4-AA game out of reach with a 23-7 advantage in the third quarter.

Mallory Archer led the Lady Saints with a game-high 24 points and Sierra Massey had 14 points.

Copiah 28, Adams Christian 25

GALLMAN &045; The Lady Rebels did just about everything right to put themselves in a position to win the game except for one thing &045; they kept sending the Lady Colonels to the free throw line.

And with first place on the line in District 3-AA, that was the last thing they could have afforded to do. Especially considering that Copiah (3-1 in district) made less than a handful of shots from the field.

Ferriday 59, Block 40

FERRIDAY, La. &045; This was actually a game of two halves as Block controlled the first half en route to a nine-point lead at halftime. The Lady Trojans then dominated the second half as they outscored the Lady Beras 39-11 over the final 16 minutes to win their second straight game at the Ferriday Invitational Tournament.

Sicily Island 33, Vidalia 32

FERRIDAY, La. &045; The Lady Tigers got 19 points from Rockel Gary and they needed all of them as they held off a late Vidalia rally.

Vidalia was held without a point in the first quarter, but a 10-2 advantage got the Lady Vikings within two points of the lead at halftime. Sicily Island (7-10) upped its lead to four going into the fourth quarter.