BOGUE CHITTO — Whether it be Division 7-1A or Region 7-1A, the Cathedral Lady Green Wave had not been able to get past the first round of a tournament for several years.

That all changed Tuesday afternoon as third-seeded Cathedral got some unexpected offense from Amanda Richardson in a 61-30 win over the Resurrection Lady Eagles in the first round of the Region 8-1A Tournament.

Richardson was one of three Cathedral players to score in double figures with 12 points. Kristian Dobard led the Lady Green Wave with 17 points and Haley Forman scored 15 points as they improved to 13-15 overall and will take on No. 2 seed West Lincoln in the first girls’ semifinals game Thursday at 4 p.m.

“Amanda hit a three-pointer and hit some shots when we need them,” Lady Green Wave head coach Kathy Graning said. “Kristian and Haley did a good job inside. That’s the first time we’ve had three players score in double figures this season.”

The Lady Green Wave didn’t let their recent first-round woes bother them as they dominated the action on both ends of the court for much of the game. By the end of the first quarter they took a 19-7 lead and when halftime arrived they had a commanding 33-13 lead.

The one positive for Resurrection was the play of Iris Hartman, who led all scorers with 24 points.

“Number 23 (Hartman) is a good ball player. She knows how to get her shots,” Graning said. “We played box-and-1 and she still scored 24 points.”

With the big lead, Graning was able to get some of her bench players some playing time and they contributed quite well.

“Everybody that was here got to play some minutes and that helped. I was very pleased with the win,” Graning said. “We were able to hit some shots. We were pretty good with our free throws. But we were sloppy at times.”

Natchez High 58, Jim Hill 56

JACKSON — After a stunning 29-point loss to Greenville-Weston last Friday night, Natchez High fans had to wonder if the Lady Bulldogs would be able to get that out of their minds and focus on Jim Hill.

After a slow start, the top-seeded Lady Bulldogs scored 24 points in the second quarter but had to hold on at the end to avoid being upset by the fourth-seeded Lady Tigers in the first round of the Division 6-5A Tournament Tuesday afternoon at Wingfield High School.

Natchez High (21-4) outscored Jim Hill 24-11 in the second quarter en route to a 34-25 halftime lead. But instead of the Lady Bulldogs putting the game away in the second half, the Lady Tigers chipped away at the lead and came within a basket of sending the game into overtime.

Ashley Morrison led the Lady Bulldogs with a game-high 26 points and Keosha Bradley added 14 points. Halima Stringer scored 14 points and Brittney Wilson had 11 points to lead four Lady Tigers players in double figures.

Natchez High will take on the winner of the Wingfield-Terry game in the girls’ championship game Friday at 6 p.m.

Centreville 49, Riverfield 30

COLUMBIA — Senior point guard Amber Addington finished with a game-high 18 points and senior forward Erin Gualden scored 12 points as the Lady Tigers defeated the Lady Raiders Tuesday afternoon in the first round of the MPSA Class AA South State Tournament at Columbia Academy.

Centreville senior center Emily Gaulden added eight points and the Lady Tigers’ defense made sure that Kelsey Cheek and Sara Senn, Riverfield’s two leading scorers, would not be a factor in the game. Both Cheek and Senn were held to just 10 points apiece.

Centerville, the No. 2 seed out of District 5-AA, took a 13-5 lead over Riverfield, the No. 3 seed from District 3-AA, and never looked back from there. By the time the third quarter was over, the Lady Tigers enjoyed a commanding 37-14 lead. By the time the Lady Raiders’ offense got going in the fourth quarter, it was way too late.

Centreville will take on the Columbia Academy Lady Cougars, the No. 2 seed out of District 4-AA, in a quarterfinal round game Thursday at 6:30 p.m

Tensas Academy 55, Benton Academy 22

RAYMOND — Mary Miller Ratcliff and Kaitlen Emfinger combined to score more points than Benton Academy had as a team as the Lady Chiefs cruised to a 33-point win over the Lady Raiders in the first round of the MPSA Class A South State Tournament at Central Hinds Academy.

Ratcliff led all scorers with 15 points and Emfinger finished with 12 points for Tensas Academy (18-11), the No. 4 seed out of District 6-A. The Lady Chiefs led 10-4 over the Lady Raiders at the end of the first quarter and then took command of the game with a 17-5 advantage in the second quarter for a 27-9 halftime lead.

While the third quarter was more competitive than the first two quarters were, Benton Academy, the No. 4 seed from District 5-A, was unable to mount a serious rally and trailed by 19 points by the end of the quarter.

The Lady Chiefs didn’t allow Benton Academy to score a single point in the fourth quarter en route to the lopsided win. Ashley Boatner led the Lady Raiders with 11 points.

Tensas Academy will have a much more difficult opponent in the quarterfinals when it takes on Newton County Academy, the District 4-A champion, Thursday at 4 p.m.

Copiah Academy 51, ACCS 29

COLUMBIA — Led by Emily Fahner’s game-high 23 points, the Copiah Academy Lady Colonels ended the season for the ACCS Lady Rebels Tuesday night at the MPSA Class AA South State Tournament.

ACCS, the No. 4 seed out of District 3-AA, knew it would be in for a tough game against a good Copiah Academy, the No. 3 seed from District 4-AA, and that’s exactly what happened in this first-round game.

The Lady Colonels scored 19 points en route to a nine-point lead at the end of the first quarter and then held the Lady Rebels to four points in both the second and third quarters en route to a commanding 44-18 lead.

Despite the loss, Lady Rebels head coach Paul Hayles was encouraged by his team’s effort.

“I’m proud of the girls for how they preserved,” Hayles said. “I look for great things out of them.”

Marlee Wadsworth and Sara Beth Fuller led the Lady Rebels with eight points each.