Zaria Jenkins was just relieved to get to overtime.

The Columbus High School junior guard/forward saw her Lady Falcons build a nine-point halftime lead against Natchez High School Friday, but then saw that lead disappear quickly in the third quarter. Columbus had to fight back in the final quarter and did enough to push the game into overtime tied at 58-58.

“We had to play aggressive,” Jenkins said. “Aggressive, aggressive, aggressive. We played good defense and good offense. We were patient.”

The Lady Falcons were aggressive in the fourth quarter and the overtime period, when it mattered most.

Columbus won 68-65 Friday night in the Joe Horne Christmas Classic at Columbus High School.

Lady Falcon coach Yvonne Hairston felt good as she took her team to the locker room at halftime with a 33-24 lead. Brianna Green made a 3-point shot just before the buzzer sounded to give the Lady Falcons (6-3) some momentum.

But that momentum didn’t last long. The Lady Bulldogs opened the second half on a 12-4 run to cut the lead to 37-36 midway through the period. Columbus scored the next seven points to give itself a 44-36 lead, but Natchez scored the final seven points of the quarter to lead 45-44 heading to the fourth quarter.

“We made some mistakes early and we turned the ball over more than we needed to,” Hairston said. “We just tried to calm them down and keep them calm out there on the floor. They settled on down and did what they were supposed to do. We knew we were going to have to battle to win the ballgame.”

The Lady Bulldogs scored the first four points of the fourth quarter to take a 49-44 lead, but the Lady Falcons never gave up.

Jenkins said Hairston was encouraging them in the huddle during timeouts.

“She was telling us we had to get back,” Jenkins. “She was telling us we had to drive to the basket, that’s the only way were going to win.”

Columbus edged out Natchez 14-13 in the fourth quarter and Jenkins made a layup with 2.3 seconds left to tie things at 58. The Lady Bulldogs got off a three-quarter court shot, but it was off the mark.

The Lady Falcons had all the momentum and opened the four-minute extra period with an 8-2 run to lead 66-60. The Lady Bulldogs weren’t done and got as close as 67-65, but Kaylyn Wilson hit a free throw late to seal the victory.

Hairston said she has a young team, and although she wasn’t happy about being down entering the fourth quarter, she thought it was a good learning experience for her squad.

“That just shows their character a lot as to how hard they want to work and how hard they work together as a team,” Hairston said. “It was just good to see that kind of effort out there. They never gave up. They just kept battling one play at a time.”

Kayla Rogers led the Lady Falcons with 18 points. Jenkins scored 17, while Kaylyn Wilson had 12. The Lady Bulldogs got 22 points from Zyaire Ewing. Kirdis Clark scored 17 points, but fouled out in the fourth quarter. Ernesha Chatman added 15 points.

Friday’s late game between the Columbus and Horn Lake boys was canceled.

In Saturday’s late session, the Columbus girls beat Jim Hill, 71-59.

Zaria Jenkins had 23 points, while Rokila Wallace had 18 points. Kayla Rogers had 12 points and 16 rebounds for the Lady Falcons (7-3).

Follow Dispatch sports writer Ben Wait on Twitter @bcwait

Ben Wait reports on Mississippi State University sports for The Dispatch.