HATTIESBURG — Zyaire Ewing scored a season-high 21 points for Natchez High as the Lady Bulldogs used a change in their defense to pull away from Tupelo in the second half to defeat the Lady Golden Wave 56-37 Thursday afternoon at the Hattiesburg Coca-Cola Holiday Tournament.

Keyana Miller finished with 14 points and Ernesha Chatman added 10 points for Natchez High, who improved to 12-1 and will take on the winner of the Hattiesburg/Wayne County game at 6 p.m. today.

But it wasn’t that easy, as Tupelo took advantage of the Lady Bulldogs’ 1-3-1 defense by getting to the basket for some easy shots that kept the Lady Golden Wave in the ball game. Natchez High led just 16-15 after one quarter of play, and the game was tied at halftime at 27-27.

Head coach Alphaka Moore decided use a different type of defense and that was what helped swing the momentum back in favor of the Lady Bulldogs.

“We made adjustments defensively that really changed the game,” Moore said. “My post players stepped up. The second half we ran a 2-1-2, which closed the lanes.”

Natchez High outscored Tupelo 9-4 in the third quarter and 20-6 in the fourth quarter. Casey Marshall led the Lady Golden Wave with nine points.

Central Private 38, ACCS 34

BROOKHAVEN — Central Private School’s Liv Fheenan led all scorers with 26 points as the Lady Rebels from Baker, La., rallied to defeat the Adams County Christian School Lady Rebels Thursday morning in the first round of the Brookhaven Academy Holiday Invitational.

The game went back and forth between the two teams for the first three quarters. Central Private led ACCS 8-7 at the end of the first quarter and 18-15 at halftime before ACCS outscored Central Private 8-4 in the third quarter to grab a 23-22 lead.

Then Fheenan took over as she helped the Lady Rebels from Baker, La., outscore the Lady Rebels from Natchez 16-11 in the fourth quarter. Fheenan was the only player from either team to score in double figures.

Jordan Petty finished with eight points and Rachel House had seven points for ACCS (4-9). ACCS will take on the loser of tonight’s Central Private/Brookhaven Academy game at 2:15 p.m. Saturday

Block 50, Ferriday 49

SICILY ISLAND, La. — The Block Lady Bears held on for a one-point win over the Ferriday Lady Trojans Thursday afternoon at the Sicily Island Tournament.

Quinesha Branch led Block with 17 points. Ferriday’s Jada Griggs led all scorers with 24 in the game.

Ferriday (2-10) will take on Tensas Parish at 4:20 p.m. today. Block (8-5) will face Franklin Parish at 7 p.m.

Sicily Island 38, Vidalia 33

SICILY ISLAND, La. — Aniyah Brown scored 16 points and Kalia Phillips had 14 points as the Sicily Island Lady Tigers defeated the Vidalia Lady Vikings Thursday afternoon at the Sicily Island Tournament.

The second quarter proved to be the difference in the outcome as Vidalia managed to score just one point while Sicily Island had eight points en route to a 13-9 halftime lead. The Lady Vikings did cut the lead to one point at the end of the third quarter, but the Lady Tigers put up 18 points in the fourth quarter to hold them off.

Taylor Tennessee led Vidalia (1-10) with 11 points and Shermel Bell chipped in with 10 points. The Lady Vikings take on Harrisonburg at 1:40 p.m. today.

Riverfield Academy 53, Trinity Episcopal 17

RAYVILLE, La. — Ashley Cooper led all scorers with 21 points and Lauchlyn Emfinger had 18 points as the Riverfield Academy Lady Raiders defeated the Trinity Episcopal Lady Saints Thursday night at the Riverfield Academy Tournament.

This game was belonged to Riverfield not long after the opening tip. The Lady Raiders jumped out to a 16-2 lead over Trinity after one quarter of play and by the time halftime arrived the Lady Raiders enjoyed a commanding 27-9 advantage.

Marty Lewis led Trinity (0-10) with five points and Murphy Aldridge had four points. The Lady Saints take on Glenbrook School at 1 p.m. today.