layoff at 6-5A tour today

By

ADAM DAIGLE

NATCHEZ &045; When Kedria Chatman went down with a twisted ankle Monday, all Natchez High head coach Sue Johnson could do was shake her head.

There’s apparently no end to players going down on the eve of the Division 6-5A tournament.

That was with point guard Brittany West watching with her knee in a cast and other players out for various reasons. That’s also after last week’s game with Callaway was cancelled, so the Lady Bulldogs head into today’s tournament opener just trying to stay focused on the matter at hand.

The Lady Bulldogs face Forest Hill at 6:30 p.m. at Vicksburg.

&uot;We’ve had two to get ankles, so we’ll have to have somebody else pull the load,&uot; Johnson said. &uot;We’ve dropped a few. We’ll see. We’ll do what we have to do. We didn’t come this far to give up. I think they’re just ready to play ball. This group is the kind that says, ‘Forget all this practice and let’s play.’ You’ve got to work on your weaknesses in practice.&uot;

Johnson, however, handed out T-shirts to follow through on a promise if the team put together a 10-game winning streak. Even though the Lady Bulldogs haven’t played since Feb. 4 against Jefferson County, they’ll go into today’s game knowing all too well what’s on the line.

&uot;We had gotten real pumped up to play Callaway, and they cancelled that,&uot; senior forward Jasmine Woods said. &uot;We’re just trying to work hard in practice to make up for the lapse. If anything, we picked it up and are better than when we played our last game.&uot;

If there’s anything to be learned from the two regular-season meetings with Forest Hill, the Lady Bulldogs will come out more disciplined. They were solid in the first meeting in Natchez thanks to a full-court man that gave the Lady Rebels problems, but Forest Hill returned the favor up there and battled Natchez into overtime.

&uot;It was close,&uot; Johnson said. &uot;We just took them for granted. We only beat them by nine points here, but the thing about it is sometimes with these young kids is the intensity level is not where it should be. They don’t understand you’ve got to come ready to play. It doesn’t matter how many times you’ve played somebody and beat them. You’ve got to play them like you’ve never played them before.&uot;

Natchez boys

The Bulldogs open the tournament as the No. 1 seed and will face Vicksburg in the opening round. It’s the first time in three seasons the Bulldogs head into the division tournament as the top seed.

But there’s been too many highs and lows this season to get caught up in any nostalgia.

The Bulldogs face the Gators on their home floor at 5:30 p.m.

&uot;We’re just going to try to come out there and play hard and play tough,&uot; NHS forward Keyshun Tinsley said. &uot;We’ve just been losing in the fourth quarter. We’d win in all three quarters and lose in the fourth. You have to know how to handle the ball and slow it down. You’ve got to know how to execute.&uot;

The Bulldogs hope to match up well inside against the Gators with Charles Cothern and Marvin Stampley coming up with points and defensive stops. It’s the goal of an offense that operates inside-out, and both players &045; along with C.J. Wright &045; have stepped at times in division this season.

&uot;We’ve got the inside,&uot; Cothern said. &uot;We’ve got to get good play from everybody. We’ve been working with all our post players.&uot;

Division 7-3A

Action begins today at Jefferson County with Franklin County girls squaring off against Amite County.

Wilkinson County’s girls and Franklin County’s boys each drew first-round byes and are automatically in the Class 3A playoffs.

Finals are set for Friday.