Stories from Friday, February 17, 2017

The Forrest Lady Rockets let the host Lady Hornets off the hook in the second District 9A Tournament semifinal game Thursday night at Huntland, losing 50-42. “I think playing them at their place with a packed house against us gave them the advantage, but we still had some shots that we usually make not fall,” Forrest coach Jeremy Jean said. “It was a great atmosphere to play in.” With the loss, Forrest plays Community in the consolation game on Saturday before hitting the road for the first-round of the Region 6A Tournament next week versus an undermined opponent from District 10A, which plays its semifinals tonight.

IRVING, TEXAS – Following a stellar opening weekend at the Eagle Round Robin which saw Middle Tennessee start 4-1 for the first time since 1999, Conference USA has announced senior infielder Austyn Whaley as Player of the Week. The award is the first for Whaley in her career.

One of the harder things to do in the game of basketball is to beat an opponent three times in one season and that was exactly the scenario before the Forrest Rockets (6-24) took on Moore County (3-23) in Saturday’s District 9A play-in game at Huntland. Forrest fans experienced a Deja vu of sorts as the Raiders bounced the Rockets out of the tournament for the second straight season by way of two Clay Burnett free throws with two seconds left for a 42-40 loss. "We weren't focused enough on the boards and we weren't focused enough on taking care of the ball," Forrest coach Randy Toombs said. "That's the one thing we've had issues with the entire season is taking care of the ball." "We got caught standing and watching," Toombs added. "They out hustled us. They got the win."