NATCHEZ — It took the Lady Saints three and a half minutes to score, and Trinity never could quite catch up to Brookhaven Academy in a 45-37 loss Saturday night.

Trinity put up just 6 points in the first quarter — two from free throws — and struggled to even put up shots in the first half.

“We couldn’t finish a bunch of chances we had as far as just missed shots under the goal,” said Trinity coach Richy Spears. “They got us out of the game somewhat.”

The problems were compounded by the fact that Madilyn Cross racked up three fouls in the first quarter, taking away a good portion of Trinity’s rebounding ability.

Also, starting point guard M.C. Iles was out with the flu.

“If it had been a district game, she probably could have played,” Spears said. “But this is a non-district game, and we start district next week so I wasn’t taking any chances. It’s more important next week than this was.”

Brookhaven came out in the second half to score 4 immediate points before Carolyn Ketchings could make a basket on a fast break but again the Lady Saints struggled to keep control of the ball.

After a steal by Cross, Trinity missed a shot then turned the ball over on its next possession.

When the Lady Saints could run a play or drive to the basket they could usually score, but the Lady Cougars kept them from doing so for most of the night.

They competed and they never quit, and that’s all you can ever ask when you’re playing somebody like Brookhaven,” Spears said. “Everybody knows their reputation, that they’re going to play. I thought we played well, just not well enough.”

The Saints’ last chance for victory came with a few minutes left in the game.

Cross stole the ball twice, resulting in 4 Trinity points, and she sunk two free throws to pull the Lady Saints within 6.

But four turnovers and a missed shot in the next five Trinity possessions ended any hope of an upset.

Ketchings and Bethany Ogden led the Lady Saints with 11 points each, and Cross added 10.

Tera Winborne had 12 points for the Cougars.

Trinity will travel to Huntington on Monday to start district play.

Brookhaven boys 63, Trinity 52

The Saints stayed with Brookhaven early but consistently underscored the Cougars in Saturday night’s loss.

Trinity was down by 2 points in the first and by 5 at the half, and although they scored just one less than Brookhaven in the third, the Saints’ 12 fourth-quarter points were not nearly enough.

One major problem was Blaine Roberts, who scored 29 points for the Cougars. The Saints couldn’t stop him, and Jake Reid added 15.

Givonni Dent led Trinity with 20 points, but no other Saint scored in double-figures.