Cass started slowly against South Forsyth and that cost the Lady Colonels dearly as they fell 41-30 in girls high school basketball action Saturday.

In the second half the Lady Colonels — who trailed by double digits at the break — made a run and closed to six points — to 31-25 — before a 6-0 run in the fourth quarter by the Lady War Eagles took back the momentum.

Head coach Jamie Horton said the Lady Colonels need to start their games with more intensity.

“The last two nights we have not been getting mentally prepared to play,” he said. “We’re coming out kind of lackadaisical. We’re getting behind the 8-ball and it’s tough to come back sometimes when you’re 10 points down before you turn around.”

South Forsyth scored the first five points of the evening, but the Lady Colonels responded with two buckets, closing to 5-4. The Lady War Eagles went on a second 5-0 tear; Courtney Bailey answered with her team’s first trey of the evening, closing to 10-7. South Forsyth closed the period with its third 5-0 run of the quarter, grabbing a 15-7 lead.

The Lady Colonels had more success defensively for much of the second period, holding South Forsyth to a single point until the 2:01 mark while sinking two buckets to close to 16-11. But the visitors ripped off 7 points in the quarter’s final two minutes while allowing a single point by Cass, giving them a 23-12 lead at halftime.

South Forsyth greeted the third quarter with a 6-1 run, taking a 29-15 lead about halfway into the period, but the Lady Colonels responded by stepping up their defensive intensity and closed with a 10-2 run, including three buckets by Jasmine Estwick.

Amber Bowen dropped in a field goal for Cass to start the final frame, helping the Lady Colonels pull within 31-25 of their visitors. But from there, South Forsyth responded with a 10-5 run to close out the game with a comfortable lead.

Horton said one of the keys for his team now is to start their games with more energy.

“We’ve got to find something as a coaching staff and as a team that helps us start quicker,” he said. “We’ve got to get mentally prepared to play basketball. Right now we’re very slow coming out of the gate.”

Horton said despite the loss, his forwards took the battle to South Forsyth.

“I thought Ashley [Huskins], a freshman, really mixed it up with them. They have a girl who’s 6-foot, 2-inches and she really mixed it up with her. I thought Janae [Callahan] also played hard.”

The scores at the first three quarters were 15-7, 23-12 and 31-23.

Leading scorers for Cass were Estwick, with 12; and Bowen, with 9. Cass was 8-of-17 at the charity stripe.

The Lady Colonels hit 10 of 34 field goal attempts and were 1 of 16 in 3-point attempts.

The win improved South Forsyth’s record to 3-4, 1-2 in the region.

Cass (0-7, 0-2 in Region 7-AAAA) fell 62-31 to Sequoyah on Friday night.

The Lady Colonels next play Friday, when they entertain Creekview. Tip-off is at 7 p.m.