After going three weeks without playing any teams, the Cathedral girls basketball team produced a rusty showing in a 46-30 loss to Madison St. Joseph.

Cathedral hung in early. Aided by dominant play from Elizabeth Smith underneath the goal and strong defense by Mackenzie Watts and other Cathedral guards, the team went into halftime trailing 20-15. But the second half told a different story, as Cathedral’s inability to shake the rust would be the team’s downfall.

“We couldn’t finish on layups in the second half,” head coach Randy Smith said. “I think we rushed a lot of shots and didn’t take our time. When you can’t convert layups and you turn the ball over, it’s hard to win.”

Smith said the MHSAA Class 2A opponents didn’t tower over his team. With a zone-based defense, Cathedral was able to keep St. Joseph from dominating the glass in the contest.

“We played sort of a triangle, but the (lead margin) was magnified when we couldn’t finish and couldn’t make our shots,” Smith said.

The Lady Bruins held Watts to just one point in the contest. Smith contributed 13 points, while McKenzie Milligan had nine in the loss.

Cathedral’s Marty Lewis did not play, as she was nursing a leg injury.

Smith said he expects Lewis to be out for another 10 days, ruling her out for tonight’s game against Monterey at home.

Following the loss, Cathedral is now 3-3 on the season.