NATCHEZ — The third annual Natchez Community Basketball Tournament will take place this Saturday and Sunday at the Roy A. Garcia Memorial Gymnasium on the campus of Cathedral High School.

There will be eight games scheduled for Saturday with the first game starting at 8:30 a.m. and the last game tipping off at 4:30 p.m. Then there will be eight games on Sunday’s slate with the first game getting under way at 8:30 a.m. and the final game beginning at 5 p.m.

As for what the purpose of this tournament is, former Cathedral Lady Green Wave head coach Randy Smith said, “Basically invite the community to come out and have fun. We wanted to do an alumni game and it has grown in its three years.”

Teams from the Natchez Police Department and Corporate Corrections of America (combined), the Natchez Fire Department, tournament sponsor Smith Mason & Company, Brandi’s Hope, Ernst Pharmacy, Magnolia Bluffs Casino, and the Lafayette, La. Shooters are among those scheduled to play in this two-day round-robin tournament.

“The Natchez Police Department called, but they didn’t have enough players, so they’re combining with CCA,” Smith said.

One of the games slated for Saturday will be a Cathedral girls’ Alumni game pitting the Cathedral Lady Green Wave against a team of former Lady Green Wave players from as far back as 2008. That game will take place at 1 p.m.

For this current crop of Lady Green Wave players, that game will take place after they have already had a home game against Brookhaven Academy on Thursday and played a road game at Wilkinson County Christian Academy today.

“It’s all round the Cathedral girls that I coached,” Smith said. “The purpose of this tournament is to support Cathedral basketball. See some of the alumni play. The one that’ll be here, they can still play. They’re still good. Some of them have sisters on the team.”

Each game will consist of four six-minute quarters with one timeout for each half. Each player is allowed just four fouls per game. There will be a 35-second shot clock on each possession. There will be a physical therapist and a security guard at all games.

Admission is free. There will also be concessions for all games. Scorekeepers will be volunteers. There will be only two referees on each game.

“Girls can play. Boys can play. Brandi’s Hope is a bunch of local guys that want to play. I don’t know what Brandi’s Hope means,” Smith said. “We’ve got seven teams. It’s a round-robin tournament to see who has the most wins.”

For those who have any questions about the Natchez Community Basketball Tournament, call Randy Smith at 337-781-6115.