The Forest Park girls brought a joyous end to five years of frustration Friday night, holding off a frantic rally in the final minutes to emerge with a 54-49 win over nemesis Southwest DeKalb in the second round of the Class AAAAA state playoffs.
Forest Park (27-4, No. 1 Region 4-AAAAA) will host Region 8-AAAAA champ Salem in the quarterfinals next week.
"(Southwest DeKalb has) beaten us five years in a row. We're 0-5 against them," Forest Park coach Steve Cole said. "So it's a really good feeling to break the streak they had against us."
Heightening the Panther vs. Panther rivalry is the fact that Southwest DeKalb ended Forest Park's season in the semifinals in 2010, 2012 and 2013.
"That was the hugest motivator," Cole added. "I didn't even need to have a pep talk. They were all ready to go."
Fifth-ranked Forest Park led throughout, and twice in the second half seemed poised to pull away. But each time, sixth-ranked Southwest DeKalb (22-8, No. 2 Region 6-AAAAA) clawed its way back into the game. Forest Park led by as much as 14 in the third quarter, and by 10 with less than four minutes remaining in the game.
That's when Southwest DeKalb, a perennial state contender with six appearances in the finals and four championships in the last seven seasons, mounted its most significant threat.
Sophomore forward Jada Walton, junior guard Daisa Alexander, and Southwest DeKalb's defense were at the forefront of the final push.
Southwest DeKalb turned up the defensive intensity and the move paid off in extra possessions down the stretch. After Forest Park turned the ball over just three times in the first half, Southwest DeKalb's full-court pressure had a hand in 12 second-half turnovers, including nine in the fourth quarter.
Walton and Alexander shouldered the offensive load. The duo had just two points each in the first half, but finished with 17 and 13, respectively, with Walton going on a six-point solo run in the latter stages of the fourth to cut the lead to 46-43 with 1:32 remaining.
But every time Southwest DeKalb got within striking distance, Forest Park had an answer - often in the form of junior point guard Tamecia Blue.
It was Blue, who finished with a team-high 15 points, who started 10-1 run in third quarter with a three-point play after Southwest DeKalb cut the lead to five. It was Blue again in the final minute who kept Southwest DeKalb at arm's length. After a pair of free throws from senior post Kanisha Tharpe extended the Forest Park lead back to five, Blue hit 4-of-6 free throws in the final minute to help secure the win.
Before fouling out in the final tension-filled moments, Tharpe scored 12 points for Forest Park, which tip-toed around extensive foul trouble for much of the game, playing just one reserve until Tharpe left with 38 seconds remaining.
Kerry Watson scored nine for Forest Park, as did Breasia McElrath, who sat for significant stretches due to fouls before picking up her fifth with 2:26 left in the game.
Junior post Cori Bostic added 10 points for Southwest DeKalb.
The win sends Forest Park back to the quarterfinals for the sixth consecutive year.
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