The Forrest Lady Rockets took the floor for the first time in their Thanksgiving Tournament on Wednesday afternoon in Chapel Hill versus Cascade and the hosts ended up carving out a solid 56-45 win over the Lady Champions.

"We played hard, we didn't play our best, but we played hard and did some good things," said Forrest head coach Jeremy Jean. "Our mid-range shot was horrible tonight, so it was good to have Brothers chip in with those threes and get some other threes from some of our other guards."

Third straight

It was the third win in a row for Forrest (4-1), who led for much of the contest, but had to stave off several runs by the Wartrace girls.

Hannah Evans (13), Caitlyn Yost (11), Savannah Brothers (11), and Kirston Holder (10) all scored in double figures for Forrest, while Cascade's Shania Schneider led all scorers in the contest with 15 points.

Cascade scored the first three points of the game before the Lady Rockets took off, beginning with a fast break bucket by Brothers off a Yost dish.

Brothers scored again moments later and Evans gave FHS a 5-3 lead on one of two from the free throw line.

Critical 3

With just under three minutes to play in the period, Brothers drained a corner three-bomb, making it an 8-3 ballgame.

Cascade got hot, scoring the next five points, capped off by a Maya Gaston bucket in the paint that knotted the score at 8-8.

With a one tick remaining, Evans was fouled attempting a three-pointer and the junior made two out of three free throws to give FHS a 10-8 lead, entering quarter number two.

Back-to-back post buckets by Cascade's Summer Carter midway through the stanza tied the game at 14 before Forrest put together a 6-0 mini-run as Yost scored three points and Brothers came up with another long bomb.

On a roll

The Lady Champs would fight back once more, slicing the lead in half, only to see it re-upped to a half dozen when Evans drilled a three-pointer at the buzzer, making it 25-19 in favor of Forrest at the half.

Yost scored to open the second half and after Brothers scooped up a loose ball and fed Kirston Holder for a fast break bucket, Forrest was out in front by double digits at 29-19.

Cascade clawed their way back, slicing the lead in half on a Schneider basket at the midway point of the third quarter.

Amanda Patterson quelled the Lady Champs' charge with a three-banger, making it a 35-26 contest before Cascade finished the period with a 6-2 run and trailed by five points at 37-32, entering the final eight minutes of action.

One free throw by Schneider early in the fourth narrowed the FHS lead to three points, but Brothers answered with a missile trey and after a Cascade miscue, Yost found Hailey Collins on the run for a basket, making it 42-33.

Final blows

Two Heather Hart free throws with just over four minutes to go edged Cascade to within six points before Yost converted a three-point play on a drive to the hoop to put the home team up 48-39.

The Lady Rockets came up with the knockout blow when Holder came up with a huge steal at the other end and made a perfect toss over the top to Evans, who floated in for the bucket, extending the Lady Rockets' lead to 50-39.

The two squads played to a 6-6 tie the rest of the way, ending the first ever non-district bout between the once longtime district foes, who will meet again on Dec. 28 at the Eagleville Christmas Classic.

"On the negative tonight, we didn't play with much energy and intensity, but on the positive, we didn't freak out late in the game," said Jean. "We stayed calm, got some big boards, some big stops, and made some free throws down the stretch when it mattered."

Margaret Bryan and Collins netted four points apiece and Patterson ended up with three for Forrest.

Saturday's Box Scores

Giles County (4-1) 14 16 13 15 58

Forrest (4-3) 16 6 14 8 42

Forrest: C. Yost 12, S. Brothers 10, H. Evans 8, S. Waggoner 4, K. Hengesbach 3, K. Holder 3, H. Collins 2. Giles County: T. McNairy 17, A. Gowan 12, K. Love 10, A. Jenkins 8, E. Freeman 4, L.L. Lawrence 2. 3-pts.: Brothers (2), Gowan (3).

Forrest (5-3) 18 11 20 8 57

MCHS (1-5) 9 11 9 6 35

Forrest: H. Evans 16, S. Waggoner 16, S. Brothers 11, C. Yost 7, K. Holder 2, B. Colvin 2, K. Hengesbach 2, A. Patterson 1. MCHS: A. Hargrove 19, K. Morris 14, A. Ford. 3-pts.: S. Waggoner (2), H. Evans (1), K. Morris (1).