FOREST — Choctaw Central had a point to prove.

Well, point taken.

Behind the always-stingy full-court press defense and a strong second quarter, the Lady Warriors ran past Forest 85-69 in a critical Region 5-3A matchup on Tuesday night.

Last season, Forest beat Choctaw Central in Forest and it was the last in-state loss for the Lady Warriors.

“We had to get some payback from how bad we played in this gym last year. Once we got our press going, it hurt them, and they didn’t handle it well,” said Choctaw Central coach Bill Smith. “Last year, we couldn’t throw it in the ocean, and they made shots. Tonight, I thought we played pretty well. We were able to create turnovers and get layups.”

Choctaw Central (22-0, 3-0 Region 5-3A) never trailed the entire game.

After being up 24-14 at the end of the first quarter, the Lady Warriors would end the first half on a 14-2 run to start pulling away up 45-23 at halftime.

“Once the girls make up their mind to get after it, we are pretty good,” Smith said. “These girls have been playing together since the ninth grade. They know how to play together and also do a real good job of getting each other the ball, and so far its worked out pretty good.”

Senior point guard Darien Tubby had a team-high 15 points to lead Choctaw Central, while Lacrisha Williams added 14 points and Kyannah Grant chipped in 10 points for the Lady Warriors.

“I just had to come out and do what I had to do and help my teammates,” Tubby said. “Last time we played here we lost, and I definitely didn’t want that to happen again. It was hard for us to get going, but once we did it’s hard for us to stop, and that is what makes us who we are.”

Olandrea McGee had a game-high 26 points lead Forest, while Cinnamon Williams added 17 points and Vantasia Duncan chipped in 11 points and Khystallyn Harkkless had 10 points for the Lady Bearcats (18-3, 3-1).

“They are the defending state champs for reason. They came out and made baskets and we couldn’t get anything going in transition,’ said Forest coach Teont Boyd. “They took it to us tonight. We will see them two more times and hopefully will be able to get the job done.”