NATCHEZ &045; There may be no worry with the Adams Christian Lady Rebels and their offense any more.

Whenever it comes &045; and it will &045; it’ll be a nice complement to the defense, which is doing mighty fine right now.

You won’t get an argument out of Huntington, who never could get into a rhythm on the offensive end in a 43-28 loss at ACCS Monday. The Lady Rebels brought the press a bunch in the first half and maintained the pressure in the halfcourt for the entire game to keep the Lady Hounds from doing just about anything on offense.

&uot;We’ve really been working hard,&uot; Lady Rebels head coach John Gray said. &uot;Our goal is to keep teams we play under 30 points, and so far it’s worked out pretty well. We feel like we’ve got a good chance if we keep them within 30. I think (our defense) really gave them some difficulties getting the ball in and getting into a routine.&uot;

The Lady Rebels did plenty of trapping in the halfcourt as the game went on, and it was a significant change of pace from what the Lady Hounds had seen last week at the Central Holmes tournament.

It may have been different than what the Lady Hounds (8-8) have seen this year, but at a time like this with district starting today it may have been a good thing.

&uot;It’s probably the most pressure we’ve seen,&uot; Huntington head coach Penny Moak said. &uot;We just couldn’t handle it. They’re a really good defensive team and really aggressive. We needed that. It’s just a different kind of basketball up there. All those teams played slow, zone defenses, and they didn’t press. I think we did some good things tonight, but I think we saw a really good defensive team.&uot;

The Lady Hounds tried to get the ball inside with success to post players Krystal Arnold and Erin Hedrick, but Adams Christian’s Brittany Gamberi and other guards kept the pressure on the perimeter. The press worked in the first half and allowed the Lady Rebels to build up a lead, and they opened the lead up to eight early in the third quarter.

That’s when Huntington sliced into the lead a bit when Emily Anders hit a bucket and Arnold converted a three-point play with 3:17 left to cut the lead to 23-20. But the Lady Hounds didn’t score after that until just over a minute left, and the Lady Rebels got two buckets from Nikki Emanuel and another from Katie Ann Swinny to take a 29-22 lead heading into the fourth quarter.

&uot;What they did was they double-teamed the ball every time,&uot; Moak said. &uot;They double-team trapped us. We did throw the ball away, but we didn’t get good shots. We only shot 35 shots in the game. That’s not too good. With only 35 shots, you’d better make 50 percent of them.&uot;

The little lull was about the only part where things got tight for the Lady Rebels (13-4), who stayed tight through the fourth quarter and held Huntington to just two field goals. The offense, however, found a little rhythm thanks to a couple buckets from Swinny.

That and the Lady Rebels hit seven of 10 shots from the free throw line.

Hannah Southerland put one in off the glass at the 5:01 mark for a 34-22 AC lead.

&uot;I felt like since we’ve been working so hard offensively we needed to run the ball down the floor and get a closer shot, and we were able to do that,&uot; Gray said. &uot;If we can just cut down on our turnovers &045; I guess it’s just being young and inexperienced. We just have so many telegraphed passes. We look and throw it there, and everybody in the gym knows it’s going there.

&uot;We shoot good shots at times, and we shoot bad shots at times. Once we learn what a good shot is and a good pass is, we’ll be a good basketball team.&uot;

Swinny knocked down three shots in the first half and finished with a game-high 13 points. Huntington cut the lead to 18-13 in the second quarter at the 1:26 mark before Swinny nailed a bucket with 17 seconds left and put in a layup just before the buzzer to give her club a 22-13 lead at halftime.

&uot;Katie Ann is getting a lot better,&uot; Gray said. &uot;A lot of times her, Joy Wynn, Genna Yelverton and Laura Guedon &045; two out of those four will be able to find a rhythm in their shots.&uot;