The Forrest Lady Rockets, minus an ill Savannah Brothers traveled to Santa Fe Monday night where they fell behind and could never catch up as the Lady Wildcats won 61-52, busting the Chapel Hill girls' five-game winning streak.

"I think not having Brothers here had a little to do with it, but not enough to make a big difference," said FHS head coach Jeremy Jean. "We never got into a rhythm because they made us play faster than we wanted to play and that is hard to do. They made us take rushed shots and when that happens, you shoot 18-63."

Forrest fell behind early at the fabled Wayne Walters Gymnasium and never led in the contest.

Pack-ing it in

Santa Fe's Allison Pack started hot and stayed on fire the entire contest, pouring in a game-high 26 points, including four three-pointers.

The Lady Rockets trailed 5-0 before Caitlyn Yost matched the five points to tie the game and that was the last time Forrest would get even with Santa Fe (5-5).

Yost would end up with 19 points to lead the Lady Rockets in the scoring column.

The Lady Cats led 13-9 after the first eight minutes and increased their lead to as many as seven points at 20-13 in the second period before Forrest responded with an 8-2 run to slice the margin to a single digit at 22-21 before a three-pointer by McKenzie Sewell gave Santa Fe a 25-21 halftime lead.

Effort was there

The Lady Wildcats would not let Forrest open the door in the third quarter as Ashley Faulkner drilled a three-pointer on Santa Fe's first possession and after a Lady Rocket miscue, Pack nailed one free throw before raining down another trey moments later, making it a 32-21 contest.

Yost and Hannah Evans converted baskets in the paint for Forrest to cut the Lady Cats' lead to eight points and that would be the margin until Santa Fe surged ahead by 11 points late before a Hailey Collins lay-up made it 38-29 in favor of the Maury County squad at the end of the third period.

Santa Fe holds on

In the fourth quarter, Santa Fe put the Lady Rockets in a deep hole from the outset, reeling off a 6-1 spurt to begin the period that increased their lead to 44-30 with 6:09 remaining in the contest.

Santa Fe would lead by as many as 17 points in the period, but Forrest would not give in as Kyleah Hengesbach hit a pair of free throws and Evans followed with a three-pointer, narrowing the margin to a dozen points with 2:59 left in the game.

Forrest would not get any closer than nine points the rest of the way as Santa Fe held on for the win.

Willpower test

"This was just a hurdle we have to get through and I will test their willpower tomorrow when we get back to work," said Jean. "I told them the best defender, the best rebounder, and the person that takes care of the ball will play Friday night when I shake up the lineup."

The Lady Rockets (9-4, 2-0) will be back in action Friday night, returning to District 9A play when they travel to winless Fayetteville (0-7, 0-3).

"This loss tonight may have come at a good time, maybe we were thinking we were better than we really are," said Jean. "We have a chance to be good, but we can't come in and not play our game."

Evans ended up with 14 points for Forrest, while Kirston Holder netted nine, Collins tallied six, Hengesbach had four, and Tamia Northcutt added a single free throw.