BAY SPRINGS — When Meridian needed to close out a win against a tough opponent, the Lady Wildcats turned to two of their go-to players.

Starting point guard TyMesha Reed was out for Meridian Saturday in the Bay Springs tournament, and opponent South Pike entered the contest with just one loss. With just a 37-32 lead going into the final period, Meridian guards Arianna Patton and Ti’Ian Boler scored four points apiece with the Lady Wildcat defense did just enough to hold off South Pike.

Meridian came away with a 45-37 victory, and head coach Deneshia Faulkner said she was pleased not just with Patton and Boler, but with everyone else who played their role against a quality opponent.

“It’s not so much from them, it’s from the other players who are selfless enough to understand their role and understand who the better scorers are, and they’re very selfless and have no problem giving it to them, and today, they were a lot more aggressive,” Faulkner said.

The Lady Wildcats and Lady Eagles were tied 10-10 after one quarter of play, and Meridian limited South Pike to six points in the second quarter to take a 24-19 lead at the break. While Meridian never trailed after that, South Pike kept the game close, and by the time the fourth quarter came around, a fatigued Lady Wildcats team slowed things down and allowed Boler and Patton to take shots when they were there. Otherwise, Meridian kept moving the ball to run out clock and prevent the Lady Eagles from making a run in the game’s waning minutes.

Meridian was fresh off a 46-14 win at George County Friday night, and Saturday’s 1:45 p.m. tipoff was its second game in less than 24 hours, which is why Faulkner was even more pleased with the win than usual.

“It was a tough game,” Faulkner said. “We had to travel all the way to George County last night, and of course we had an early practice this morning, but we just try to train for it. We try to prepare for things like this. One of the biggest things we do is try to make sure the kids are comfortable being uncomfortable, and I think it paid off a little bit today.”

Boler led Lady Wildcats with 21 points, and Patton added 14 points for Meridian. Ameshia Parker scored five points, Tyana Clark finished with four points and Brianna Parker chipped in with one points.

“This is probably one game that I’m most proud of because we had a lot of ninth graders come in and step up,” Faulkner said. “We had a lot of kids that hadn’t been getting a lot of playing time come in and step up, and I was really proud of them.”

Meridian improved to 15-4 overall and is currently 4-0 against Region 5-6A competition. The Lady Wildcats will play Monday night against Jefferson Davis in the Jefferson Davis Martin Luther King Jr. Shootout.

MERIDIAN BOYS 62, KOSCIUSKO 35

Meridian boys coach Ron Norman challenged his players to start fast.

The Wildcats did just that, jumping out to an 11-0 lead in the first three minutes and a 21-11 advantage at the end of the first quarter against Kosciusko. The reserves got plenty of playing time, and Kosciusko was never able to overcome the early deficit in a decisive Wildcat victory.

“We talked about that in the dressing room, about back-to-back games being about the team that comes in and wants to play — the team that wants to be here,” Norman said. “Our kids showed up with that intensity, and we did what we were supposed to do early, which allowed us to play a lot of people, so I’m really proud of our starters who got us going early.”

Nine Wildcat players scored points for Meridian, which led 42-21 at the half and 52-26 at the end of three. Makeem Roberts had a team-high 11 points, and Vontrell Pringle had 10 points for Meridian. Azerious Ellis and KeEdrick Armstead both scored eight points, and Treamond Pittman and Kyler Yarbrough scored seven points each. Jaylen Davis had six points, Phillip Mosley scored three points and Jarvis Campbell chipped in with one point.

Seeing the backups get playing time is nothing new, as Norman said they sometimes provide a spark. The more minutes they get, though, the better-prepared the team will be against playoff competition.

“If you go back to our first district game against George County, that was the group that got us going last week,” Norman said. “They had 43 of our 70 points the last time we played George County, so I’m giving them some more confidence to go out and play and make plays.”

Norman also said non-regional games during the weekend and Martin Luther King Jr. holiday are important for postseason preparation in general.

“It gets you into playoff mode, because there will be nights in the playoffs where you might have to play back-to-back, and you might not know a lot about your opponent” Norman said. “We didn’t know a lot about Kosciusko, but it’s about us believing in our principals and doing the things we always do, which is rebound, defend and play hard.”

Meridian (17-2, 4-0) will also play in the Jefferson Davis Martin Luther King Jr. Shootout Monday against Hattiesburg. The Wildcats resume divisional competition Friday when they host Petal.