JACKSON — Natchez High School guard Ernesha Chatman and Jefferson County High School center Diamond Smith added to the ranks of the Mississippi All-Star team in the Mississippi-Alabama All-Star basketball game Friday afternoon.

The Mississippi squad earned a 78-77 win, giving Mississippi its fifth win in the past seven years and evens the overall record against Alabama 13-13.

The Mississippi team utilized a 28-17 scoring advantage in the fourth quarter to come from behind to win.

Smith was 1-for-1 shooting with three points, six rebounds and a blocked shot.

“I played well overall, I just didn’t get much playing time,” Smith said. “It was a guard game.”

Chatman had two points and hauled in four rebounds.

“It was a fun game,” Chatman said. “It was good experience, and I met some new people”

Chatman, Smith and the rest of the MHSAA senior all-stars took a bus to Mississippi College in Clinton Friday morning and arrived in the early afternoon. The game’s tipoff was at 5 p.m.

“We’ve worked hard these last three days,” Smith said.

Chatman said it was interesting playing on the same side with girls she has tried to beat her entire career.

“You have help because you’re playing with people who have the same talent that you have,” Chatman said. “We’ve all gotten along really well.”

Chatman and Smith are used to eating up minutes on the court for Natchez and Jefferson County, but the seniors had to make the most of most of their playing time Friday.

Chatman said playing time depended on how much each player contributed during the game. Chatman and Smith are still undecided on their college destination, with the exposure of Friday’s game potentially adding a boost to their recruitment.

“I was a little nervous at first but I’ll play myself out of my nerves,” Chatman said.

Chatman won back-to-back MHSAA 5A state championships during her sophomore and junior seasons for Natchez, Smith’s squad advanced to the MHSAA 3A quarterfinals this season and the semifinals last season.

“It feels good (to represent Mississippi),” Smith said. “There’s a lot of players, there is over 300 players that they had to choose from. I know it was hard to choose from 300 players. It’s a great thing to be working with the teammates that I’m working with now.”