2010 GHSA State Championships Elite 8 - Class 4A
Forest Park rebounds to earn a place in the Final Four

The Lady Panthers from Forest Park came from behind to earn a trip to the Final Four.

 

When Keyonna Allen rebounds and scores inside Forest Park is a different team.

Forest Park got off to a good start; Ashley Cole would drain a long jumper and Keyonne Allen who is the inside presence for the Lady Panthers scored a couple of baskets and did a nice job on the glass as Forest Park took a 12-9 lead.

In the second-quarter Allen and Nicole Wilson were each hit with two fouls and had to take a seat on the bench.

With Allen and Wilson on the bench Statesboro began to take control of the glass and the game. The Blue Devils have two outstanding looking 6-0 sophomores in Alyssa Jenkins and Sierra Kirkland; both picked up their games in the second-quarter and for a stretch dominated play. A basket by Jenkins gave Statesboro a 14-12 lead with 4:52 left in the half.

Forest Park would regroup and when Cole knocked down a three-pointer the Lady Panthers jumped back in front 17-14.

Jenkins is really relentless when it comes to crashing the boards; her put-back and a jumper by teammate Neisha Drummer would give Statesboro a four-point lead. Jenkins would score again at the end of the half to give the Lady Blue Devils their largest lead of the game, 26-17.

Allen and Wilson both returned to the line-up in the third-quarter but the Lady Panthers still appeared to be somewhat down, turning the ball over and playing with a lack of urgency about the importance of the game.

Jenkins continued her outstanding play inside; her lay-up with 1:20 left in the third-quarter put the Lady Blue Devils up by ten, 32-22. Yamya Crawford would hit a shot at the buzzer for Forest Park to cut the lead to 32-24.

Jessica Anderson who had not been much of a factor at this point hit a three-pointer for Forest Park to start the forth-quarter
Statesboro has two outstanding 6-0 sophomores in Alyssa Jenkins (r) and Sierra Kirkland (l).
and cut the lead to 32-27. Moments later Anderson would strike again with another three to pull the Lady Panthers to within three, 35-32.

Statesboro has two outstanding 6-0 sophomores in Alyssa Jenkins (r) and Sierra Kirkland (l).

With their shots now starting to fall Forest Park gained new life and really started getting after Statesboro on the defensive end of the floor. Allen's presence in the paint is big for Forest Park; when she is rebounding and scoring on put-backs the Lady Panthers are a different team. Reserves Raven Wynn and Tamara Brewster played well during the turnaround.

Veronica Carmicael turned into a real ball-hawk down the stretch making two outstanding back-to-back defensive plays, one which she turned into a lay-up and a 43-35 Forest Park lead with 1:30 left to play.

Statesboro was forced to start fouling and Forest Park calmly went to the line and hit 4 of 6 free-throws to seal the victory and a trip to the Final Four.

The Final Score: Forest Park 50 – Statesboro 44

Scoring Recap
Forest Park: Ashley Cole led Forest Park with 19 points. Jessica Anderson added 12 and Keyonna Allen chipped in with 7.

Statesboro: Alyssa Jenkins paces Statesboro with 17; Sierra Kirkland added 14 and Raven Thomas finished with 7.