JACKSON — After finding out the quarterfinal-round game between Lanier and Natchez High School would be postponed from Thursday night until Saturday morning, head coach Alphaka Moore mentioned two things that she would be concerned about.

The first was that her Lady Bulldogs should not take Lanier High School lightly just because its record was 15-12. Especially after those Lady Bulldogs upset Oxford to make it to that point. The second was what affect the 9 a.m. tip-off would have on her players.

The defending MHSAA Class 5A state champion Natchez High Lady Bulldogs answered the call and moved one step closer to defending their crown with a hard-fought 43-36 win over the Lanier Lady Bulldogs at the Mississippi Coliseum.

Even though Natchez High defeated Lanier by just seven points, Moore said she was not concerned about either of the aforementioned concerns.

“Of course, we didn’t want to play at 9 a.m. But we had to come in focused and ready to play. They did a good job,” Moore said. “We had to make some adjustments because we had a couple of turnovers.”

Zyaire Ewing scored just eight points, but a pair of junior guards in Skylar Morgan and Ernesha Chatman stepped up for Natchez High in a big way. Morgan led the way with 13 points and Chatman added nine points.

“They just did what they needed to do. Our guards kept driving to the basket,” said Moore about Morgan and Chatman. “Even when their shots would not fall, they were able to get the rebounds. They also stepped up on the defensive boards. Skylar had quite a few offensive boards.”

Lanier got off to a good start and led Natchez High 8-7 at the end of the first quarter. But Natchez High ramped up its defense and limited the host Lady Bulldogs to only four points in the second quarter and took an 18-12 lead into halftime.

“That was real big. They were getting tired and they gave up the lead,” Moore said.

The third quarter was similar to the first quarter as Lanier outscored Natchez High 9-8 to make it a 26-21 game in favor of the visiting Lady Bulldogs. However, Natchez High responded by outscoring Lanier 17-15 in the fourth quarter.

“We did pretty good (defensively),” Moore said. “We had to play smart because we had a few players in foul trouble.”

Brittany Rose led Lanier with a game-high 20 points and Kadaria Thompson had nine points, but they got very little offensive help from their teammates.

Moore added that despite the early start, there were quite a few Natchez High fans at the game and she is expecting to see even more at the Mississippi Coliseum in Jackson for the Lady Bulldogs’ next game.

Natchez High (22-1) will take on Pearl High School at 8 p.m. in the Class 5A girls’ semifinals.

“Pearl and Lanier are in the same district. Pearl has some small guards. They’re well-coached. We have to pay attention to their game plan,” Moore said.