JACKSON — In the blink of an eye Thursday, Warren Central watched a three-point lead become a nine-point deficit. Then Forest Hill ran the delay offense to perfection to take a 52-45 victory in the Jackson Public Schools Tournament second-round game.

Warren Central finished the tournament with a 1-1 record, while Forest Hill (16-0) was scheduled to play Callaway this morning at 10 in the tournament semifinals.

“Fatigue set in and we got a little tired,” Warren Central coach Donny Fuller said. “When that happened, we started standing on both ends of the court. We couldn’t get into our offense because we were standing around and our defensive pressure went down too.”

Much of the fatigue should be credited to a swarming Forest Hill defense. The high-intensity, up-tempo defense harassed Warren Central players all over the court. Sha’Kayla Caples led all scorers with 19 points and had 10 rebounds for Warren Central, while Karnina Bunch had 11 points.

Caples, a sensational junior who was under the watchful eyes of major college coaches from around the Southeast on Thursday, dazzled the crowd with blocked shots, scoring points and ability to dribble the length of the court. Late in the third quarter with Forest Hill up by three points, Caples had a stretch where she had two steals, two blocked shots and four points as the Lady Vikes led 39-38 at the end of the third quarter.

The Lady Vikes took a quick 43-42 lead less than two minutes into the fourth quarter, but Forest Hill’s Brittany McGruder hit a 3-pointer to give FH a 45-42 lead and start the decisive run. Bianca Powell’s three-point play with 3 minutes, 29 seconds to play in the fourth gave Forest Hill a 52-43 lead.

Warren Central connected on only one shot the rest of the way, a basket by Bunch, and the Lady Rebels ran most of the fourth-quarter clock off keeping the ball away from Warren Central’s scorers.

“We keep getting better. Playing games like this make you better,” Fuller said. “Forest Hill is a really good team. You don’t get to be 15-0 without being a good team.”

McGruder and Courtney Marbra led Forest Hill with 14 points apiece.

Warren Central is scheduled to host Division 6-5A rival Clinton on Jan. 4.