Lady Pats fight to finish in loss to Forrest

CHAPEL HILL -- Forrest Middle defeated Liberty Middle 41-33 to win the World Tournament consolation prize behind the scoring efforts of Kim Rochester and Megan Miller, who combined for 21 points.

Lady Patriot Kasey Caldwell puts up a shot over a Forrest defender. (T-G Photo by Jimmy Jones) [Click to enlarge]

The Lady Rockets (10-2) won by 28 at Liberty earlier in the season.

"I am proud of the way that we played tonight," Lady Patriot coach Chad Spencer said. "We have really shown some improvement in all facets of the game and we are playing with real good intensity.

"Even when we got down early we kept battling. Our schedule starts to lighten up a bit now. We should continue to show steady improvement."

Forrest jumped out to 14-4 and 17-10 leads during the first half.

They upped their lead to 32-18 going into the last quarter before being outscored 15-9 in the fourth quarter by the Lady Patriots (3-7) as Kasey Caldwell connected on 3-pointers on successive trips down the floor.

It would not be enough to get past the home team, but it was an impressive way to finish the game.

"We look at this as an encouraging sign that this team is starting to jell at the right time," Spencer said. "We will keep working hard in practice and continue to improve."

Liberty travels to Moore County to take on the World Tournament champion Raiderettes tonight at 6.

Moore County 37, Middle Tennessee Christian 26: In the championship game, Rachel Garland and Erin Pierce had 12 and 11 points, respectively, to lead the Raiderettes.

The teams were knotted at 7-all after the first period. The half ended in a 22-18 Moore County (9-2) advantage.

Brooke Miller, Katie Shadowens and Sara Sims made the All-Tournament team for the Lady Cougars (13-2).

Pierce, Garland and Heather Vann were named to the team for the champions.