By PATRICK JONES

The Natchez Democrat

NATCHEZ — The Natchez High School Lady Bulldogs defeated a bad Wingfield High School Lady Falcons team in an MHSAA Region 6-5A game Friday night, but head coach ShaRhonda Gipson was not happy with her team’s performance down the stretch.

“We were not very disciplined at the end of the game. With about two minutes left, we were up by 13. We should have won by double digits,” Gipson said. “But we came out with a win.”

Instead, Natchez High beat Wingfield by just five points, 53-48 to even its record in region play. The Lady Bulldogs were led by Candi Gray with 20 points and Kelvonda Arbuthnot with nine points.

Gipson said that she was surprised at how close the outcome was, but she added that several players stood out.

“Candi had a good game. Some of our post players, Kyla Butler and Kelvonda, had to step up big. Our guards had to step up. Four points may not sound like a lot, but every point counts,” Gipson said.

The Lady Bulldogs led Wingfield 13-10 at the end of the first quarter before outscoring the Lady Falcons 13-4 in the second quarter for a 26-14 halftime lead.

However, Wingfield’s duo of junior shooting guard Sade Thompson and senior power forward Tahja Coleman helped the Lady Falcons (3-13, 0-2) make it a closer-than-expected game in the second half. They outscored the Lady Bulldogs 20-16 in the third quarter and 14-11 in the fourth quarter.

Thompson led all scorers with 25 points and Coleman finished with 10 points.

Natchez High (10-9, 1-1) steps out of region play on Tuesday, Jan. 15 when it plays at Franklin County High School at 6 p.m.

Wingfield boys 70, Natchez High 67

NATCHEZ — Turnovers and too many missed lay-ups proved to be too much for Natchez High School to overcome as the Bulldogs lost to the Wingfield High School Falcons 70-67 Friday night in MHSAA Region 6-5A action.

Natchez High led Wingfield 28-24 at halftime before the Falcons outscored the Bulldogs 22-14 in the third quarter for a 46-42 lead.

“We had 15, 16 turnovers and missed 10 lay-ups. They took advantage of our mistakes,” Bulldogs head coach David Haywood said. “Ten missed lay-ups in one game and we lose by three. We should have made seven or eight of them.”

Falcons junior shooting guard/small forward Damarion Arrington was a nightmare for the Bulldogs to contain as well. He finished with a game-high 30 points. Senior shooting guard added 15 points for Wingfield (8-10, 1-1).

“We didn’t rebound the ball very well. They beat us on offensive rebounds. They got a bunch of shots on easy goals. It looked at times like they wanted it more than we did,” Haywood said.

Despite scoring 25 points in the fourth quarter, Natchez High couldn’t make nearly enough stops to get a rally going as Wingfield put up 24 points.

Charles Credit and James Singleton led the Bulldogs with 16 points each and Kedarius Stampley had 14 points.

Natchez High (10-6, 0-2) plays at Franklin County High School on Tuesday, Jan. 15 at 7:30 p.m.

Monterey girls 48, Cathedral 29

NATCHEZ — Andy Gray led Monterey High School with a game-high 16 points as the Monterey High School Lady Wolves defeated the Cathedral High School Lady Green Wave 48-29 Friday night.

The Lady Wolves jumped out to a 12-3 lead after one quarter of play and then proceeded to outscore the Lady Green Wave 18-10 in the second quarter and 14-8 in the third quarter for a 44-21 lead.

Harlie Murray scored nine points and Allie Lipsey added eight points for the Lady Wolves. Madeline Smith led the Lady Green Wave with 10 points and Baylee Graning had eight points.

Monterey (15-5) plays at Georgetown High School on Tuesday, Jan. 15 at 6 p.m. Cathedral (5-12) next plays on Monday, Jan. 14 at 6 p.m. when it hosts Centreville Academy.

Monterey boys 43, Cathedral 21

NATCHEZ — Trey Boyd ended up with a game-high 21 points and Hunter Lipsey had 10 points to lead the Monterey High School Wolves to a 43-21 win over the Cathedral High School Green Wave Friday night.

Monterey raced out to a 13-4 lead over Cathedral at the end of the first quarter and never looked back. The Wolves capped off the lopsided win with a 14-6 advantage in the fourth quarter.

Chase Kaiser and Colby Passman led the Green Wave with six points apiece.

Monterey (no record given) next plays on Tuesday, Jan. 15 at 7:30 p.m. at Georgetown High School. Cathedral (4-12) hosts Centreville Academy on Monday, Jan. 14 at 7:30 p.m.

Port Gibson girls 49, Jefferson County 43

FAYETTE — NaKyah Buck led Port Gibson High School with 16 points and De’Vaisha Epps had 10 points as the Lady Blue Waves held on for a 49-43 win over the Jefferson County High School Lady Tigers Friday night in an MHSAA Region 7-3A game.

The first half was a low-scoring one compared to previous meetings between these two teams. Port Gibson led Jefferson County 9-6 after one quarter of play and 21-15 by halftime.

The Lady Tigers played much better on the offensive end in the third quarter and outscored the Lady Blue Waves 15-12 to cut the lead to three points, 33-30. But the Lady Blue Waves responded with a 16-13 advantage in the fourth quarter.

Iyronica Barnes led the Lady Tigers with 16 points while Brittany Goldsberry had nine points and Akira Doss chipped in with eight points.

Jefferson County (N/A, 0-1) plays at Hazlehurst High School on Tuesday, Jan. 15 at 6 p.m.

Block girls 66, University Academy of CENLA 43

JONESVILLE — ShirCold Bowman finished with a game-high 23 points and Cintina Green poured in 14 points as the Block High School Lady Bears used a big second half to defeat the University Academy of CENLA Lady Lions 66-43 Friday night in a key LHSAA District 3-1A game for both teams.

Both Block and University Academy entered this game tied for third place with Montgomery High School at 2-2 in the district standings. And in the first half, neither team backed down from the other

The Lady Bears led the Lady Lions 17-11 at the end of the first quarter before the visitors from Alexandria, La. put up 17 points themselves while holding Block to 12 points to go into halftime down just one point, 29-28.

However, the Lady Bears took control in the second half, and especially the fourth quarter. They outscored the Lady Lions 12-8 in the third quarter to go up by five points, 41-36, at the end of the quarter before putting the game completely out of reach with a 25-7 advantage in the fourth quarter.

Laterria Lee chipped in with 12 points and YaKetra Woods contributed with eight points for the Lady Bears. Jordan Semonas led the Lady Lions (11-9, 2-3) with 18 points and Destiney Deville had 10 points.

Block (17-5, 3-2) hosts LaSalle High School on Tuesday, Jan. 15 at 6 p.m.