NATCHEZ — It was a rough week for the Cathedral varsity boys — on and off the court.

The Green Wave lost a pair of games this past week, one to Sebastopol 62-55 and the other to West Lincoln 72-39.

But the woes off the court have been just as frustrating, and are contributing to the Green Wave’s lackluster 1-5 regional record thus far. The Cathedral players have been on a merry-go-round of sorts with the flu, where one player gets it as soon as another gets better, head coach Peter Arnold said.

“It’s every game that we have to deal with this,” Arnold said.

“It started a couple of weeks back in the Bogue Chitto game (a 58-53 loss Jan. 11). Then after that, we had three people not go to the St. Al game (a 52-49 loss Jan. 14). They’ll take a week to get over it, then when they come back, two more people get it.”

Between that and an injury to Caleb Upton, Arnold said he’s only had nine of 14 players at practice the past two weeks.

“Basketball’s a game of chemistry,” he said. “You have to have coordination and be in sync. When key personnel are out, you’re just not in that rhythm.

“It’s taken a hard toll on us. This is more people out sick than I’ve seen in nine years of coaching. I’ve literally had all but four people get sick. It’s just tough.”

Cathedral is 7-11 overall on the year.

The Lady Green Wave also had a rough week, losing to Sebastopol 48-20 and falling just short of a comeback in a 44-41 loss to West Lincoln.

In both games, the Cathedral girls failed to get off to a quick start, and had to try and claw their way back. Head coach Bernita Dunbar said after their game against West Lincoln that her girls would have to find a way to be self-motivated.

Despite a down week, Cathedral’s Epiphany Jackson has been stepping up as a go-to player for the Lady Green Wave. She tallied 12 points against West Lincoln and eight points against Sebastopol. Dunbar said Jackson’s versatility makes her a fun player to watch.

“She can be used down low and outside,” Dunbar said. “She’s more beneficial to the team with her ball-handling skills, so when we pull her out, it’s for that purpose.

“How I use her depends on the situation. She can go down low and be a power forward or use her outside with her height.”

The Cathedral girls are 6-12 overall, 2-4 in the region. The Cathedral boys and girls will host the Mississippi School for the Deaf Monday.

The Trinity boys capped off a good week with an 80-70 win against MAIS Class AA Brookhaven Academy.

While head coach David King was pleased with his starters, he was critical of his backups allowing the game to be as close as it was at the end of regulation.

“The second unit just didn’t get it done,” King said after the game. “I’m trying to play a lot of kids to get some depth and experience, but it’s becoming obvious that I don’t have the depth I thought I had.”

Trinity improved to 20-4 on the year. It will host Prairie View Monday.