WESSON &8212; Only eight girls dressed out, and head coach Kathy Graning was unavailable Thursday.

Boy, did they miss something special.

The Lady Wave turned its pressure defense up a notch and got two key free throws from Mattie Smith down the stretch to take at 59-56 win over Dexter at the Wesson tournament Thursday.

The Lady Wave (2-11) had to fight back after trailing 39-35 heading into the fourth.

&8220;They were very, very happy,&8221; coach Peter Arnold said. &8220;The girls really put forth the effort to win the game. This didn&8217;t fall into their lap. They went out and got it. They just gutted it out to the very end.&8221;

Cathedral got key free throws from Smith as she hit both on a one-and-one late to put the lead at three points. Dexter got a 3-point attempt off before time ran out, but the shot did not fall.

Smith hit two huge 3-pointers in the final minutes to fuel the team&8217;s 24-point effort in the fourth. The Lady Wave went to a 2-3 zone defense in the second half in the halfcourt while finding success with a zone press that created scoring opportunities for Smith and Caitlin Huffines.

Smith finished with 21 points and nine steals. Huffines had 11 points and four steals.

&8220;A lot of (points) were out of transition,&8221; Arnold said. &8220;The girls were just very aggressive defensively in the second half. We switched defenses several times. When we played man, they were able to get it inside. It was a really, really big win for them. They played so hard, and they deserved to win. It was a very well-played game.&8221;

Kristian Dobard finished with 20 for Cathedral.

Adams Christian 54, Simpson 47

BROOKHAVEN &8212; After three tries, the Lady Rebels finally got out of that post-holiday funk.

The offense ran smooth, the defensive intensity was there and there weren&8217;t any twists and turns as in the previous two games. The Lady Rebels (15-4) took an early lead this time against Simpson and maintained control for the win at the Brookhaven Academy tournament.

&8220;We played a lot better today,&8221; Adams head coach John R. Gray said. &8220;We didn&8217;t have to come from so far behind. We played from start to finish. The timing on their passes was better, and we just played a smarter game than we did the first time with them. We didn&8217;t go into a lull anywhere.&8221;

The Lady Rebels led 11-6 after one, 25-16 at half and 40-28 heading into the fourth quarter.

Brittany Gamberi and Katie Anne Swinny each led AC with 16 points. Kate Hubbard had 19 for Simpson.

Huntington 41, SIA 34

ROLLING FORK &8212; As tough as things were at the tournament, at least the Lady Hounds won their last game.

And they&8217;ll take it heading into the new year when District 7-A plays cranks up Tuesday at Franklin Academy. It came down to free throws again, but this time they were on the winning side of it by hitting six of eight in the fourth quarter to win it.

The Lady Confederates led 29-27 at the end of the third.

&8220;In the first half we missed most of our free throws, but in the second half we did a lot better,&8221; Huntington head coach Penny Moak said. &8220;It was pretty much a free throw game. We came through. I thought it was a real good team effort. We had different ones step up at different times.&8221;

Sharkey led 19-13 at half. Donna Tarver and Leslie Wagoner led Huntington with eight apiece.

Ferriday 70, Newellton 27

SICILY ISLAND &8212; The half wasn&8217;t even over, and the Lady Trojans may have already been thinking about today&8217;s matchup with Harrisonburg.

The Lady Trojans (14-1) led 19-5 after one and 36-8 at half. They will play Harrisonburg in the semifinals of the Sicily Island tournament at 3 p.m. today, and a win will put them in the finals against the winner of the Sicily Island-Delhi.

Jasmine Upchurch and Kiawanna McDowell led Ferriday with 16 points each.

Trinity Episcopal 56, Ben&8217;s Ford 19

WOODVILLE &8212; The combined score from Thursday&8217;s games? You don&8217;t want to know.

Here it goes &8212; 136-30. Trinity followed up a rout of WCCA with a one-sided win over Ben&8217;s Ford on the eve of today&8217;s battle with Claiborne Academy.

The Lady Saints (10-6) led 20-4 after one, 33-8 at half and 47-10 after three. Mallory Archer led the team with 16.

Trinity Episcopal 80, WCCA 11

WOODVILLE &8212; Brandy Hall got hot from behind the 3-point line, and that left little else in doubt.

Trinity led 22-5 after one, 39-8 at halftime and outscored the Lady Rams 21-0 in the third quarter.

Hall had 25, while Mallory Archer had 21.

Natchez High 57, Eudora 47

GREENVILLE &8212; Natchez High picked up another win thanks to a solid third quarter to take a win at the O&8217;Bannon Holiday Tournament.

Eudora led 24-23 at half, but the Lady Bulldogs (5-7) went on a 20-4 run in the third quarter to take a 43-28 lead heading into the fourth quarter.

Kedria Chatman led the Lady Bulldogs with 17 points. Natchez High will play at 5 p.m. today against Mound Bayou JFK.

Claiborne 47, Centreville 31

WOODVILLE &8212; The Lady Tigers&8217; one-point lead at halftime vanished as the Lady Rebels held a 13-4 advantage in the third to lead 32-24 heading into the fourth quarter.

Claiborne outscored Centreville 15-7 in the fourth to close it out.