NATCHEZ &045; A quick trip through the first round of Division 7-1A boys proved just what the coaches had predicted all along.

From top to bottom, the records may be different &045; but the teams really aren’t different at all.

Here sits the Cathedral Green Wave smack in the middle of it all and an actual testament to the whole parity thing in the division &045; every single game has gone down to the wire, including Friday’s tough loss at St. Aloysius.

Up against a team it had trounced in the Wesson tournament, the Wave struggled at the end and couldn’t hold on in a 50-46 decision. Now the Wave (3-4, 7-11) continues today at Bogue Chitto in the first of its final six regular-season games before the tournament at West Lincoln.

&uot;I think we’ll shake it off,&uot; Cathedral head coach Peter Arnold said. &uot;Honestly, we didn’t really play that great the last three games, but we came back and won two of them. It’s the time of the year where we’ve got six games left and it’s time to tighten the screws and get after it. You want to start hitting on all cylinders when that district tournament starts.

&uot;We started slow, picked up some steam and now it’s time to take it up a notch and get it going.&uot;

The loss hurt the Wave in respect to the standings in the event of a tie-breaker with the Flashes, but not the way the standings are now. Both teams are smack in the middle of the standings at fourth and fifth and would play each other regardless.

But the Green Wave has a chance to move up standing just a half game behind Pelahatchie, a team it beat in Natchez in the first round.

Then there’s Bogue Chitto, a team that just posted its first win of the season two weeks ago against Enterprise but remained competitive in nearly every game this season. The Bobcats (1-5, 1-15) played solid against Cathedral in the first meeting of the two teams before coming up short at the end.

&uot;I’m sure we’re going to see the same thing they did here,&uot; Arnold said. &uot;They’ll run their Princeton-style offense and pretty much exclusively a 1-2-2 defense, which we’ve seen a lot of. We’ve got a good offense to run against the 1-2-2.&uot;

The Green Wave clicked in the third quarter against St. Al just as it did in times earlier this season with solid defensive play and an inside-outside game. The Flashes had no points to show for the first seven minutes of the third quarter, and the Green Wave went inside and kicked it out to Matt Goss, who drained two 3-pointers.

Things went awry in the fourth quarter, and it’s something Arnold wants his club to get better at &045; put a team away.

&uot;We’ve just got to go over there and jump on them early,&uot; Arnold said. &uot;When teams are losing like that, if you get a big lead on them, they tend to kind of give up. It’s going to be more of the same &045; for road wins, you’ve got to go over there and earn them.&uot;

Franklin at Wilkinson girls

WOODVILLE &045; This may be the game Wilkinson County has been pointing to for some time, particularly after knocking off Hazlehurst to move into a tie for first place.

Yet the Lady Wildcats know a tough one awaits them today in their gym when Franklin County visits to settle who will be occupy first in Region 7-3A. The Lady Bulldogs won the first meeting between the two in Meadville.

&uot;We’re looking forward to the game,&uot; WC head coach Edwin White said. &uot;I think Franklin County is probably looking forward to it more than we are. They’re really playing well. I’m really surprised they lost to Natchez. But we’ve worked on some things we haven’t done well.&uot;

The contest is another tough one for the Lady Bulldogs, who dropped a hard-fought decision at Natchez Friday but rebounded with a solid win over Jefferson County a day later. The Lady Bulldogs held the edge in the first meeting, but the Lady Wildcats hope to go inside like Natchez did on Friday.

Wilkinson is hoping junior forward Kim Griffin continues her hot streak. She had 21 in Friday’s 65-35 win over North Pike.

Ferriday at McCall girls

FERRIDAY, La. &045; It’s a typical McCall team, and Ferriday head coach Lisa Abron hopes it won’t be a score the Lady Dragons have made typical this season.

&uot;I hear they’ve been running the score up on just about everybody they’ve played,&uot; FHS head coach Lisa Abron said. &uot;My thing is we have to slow them down. If I have to hold the ball, I will. We have to get in a half-court game with them. If we get in a half-court game, we’ll hold the ball.&uot;