CHAPEL HILL — A monster first half by the Forrest Lady Rockets was more than Cascade could overcome in Friday night’s regular season finale.
The Lady Rockets went on an absolute tear in the opening quarter and held off Cascade in a 71-52 win.
Forrest was lights out from the perimeter in the opening quarter and thanks to eight points from Lady Rocket sophomore Kinslee Inlow, built a 28-9 lead by the end of the quarter.
Aside from that lop-sided opening frame, Cascade essentially played Forrest even through the remaining three quarters.
Senior Macyn Kirby drilled a corner three-pointer with 5:31 left in the first and never let off the throttle.
Forrest knocked down five treys in the opening quarter and it wasn’t until Sophie Ray caught fire in the third did Cascade’s offense find its rhythm.
Ray scored eight points in the third, but went on to finish with a team-high 25 points.
Fouls became an issue in the second half and as a team, Cascade made a living at the charity stripe.
After going 4-for-7 at the line in the first half, Cascade shot a much more efficient 15-of-20 in the second half.
While Ray was providing the bulk of the offense for Cascade by attacking the paint, Inlow added another 14 points in the second half to finish with a game-high 31 points.
Isabella Rhodes joined Ray in double figures and finished with 11.
With the regular season in the books, it will be a Forrest-Cascade rematch as the No. 2 and No. 3 seeds meet in the District 7-AA semifinals on Thursday night at 7:30 p.m.

Cascade 9 8 15 20 — 52
Forrest 28 9 17 17 — 71

Cascade: Sophie Ray 25, Isabella Rhodes 11, Laina Carter 5, Kaegan Young 3, Kaydence Miller 3, Hailey Giel 2, Kaydence Bynum 2, Sarah Floyd.
Forrest: Kinslee Inlow 31, Macyn Kirby 10, Megan Mealer 7, Meagan Scaggs 4, Carli Warner 4, Kaylin Pope 4, Samantha Hopkins 4, Josie Brown 3, Camreigh Warner 2, Neveah Patterson 2.
3-Point goals: Forrest (7): Inlow 4, Kirby, Mealer, Brown; Cascade (2): Carter, Miller.
Halftime score: Forrest 35, Cascade 17.