Alexa Justus scored 11 points as Forks held off a late Ephrata charge to beat the Tigers 38-31 on Thursday in the Class 2A girls state tournament.

Ephrata was blanked 15-0 in the third quarter and fell behind by 23, 34-11, at the end of the period. But Kyla Whitaker scored six of her game-high 12 points and Kyndra Purcell also had six points as the Tigers trimmed the deficit to the final margin with a 20-4 run.

Justus was the Spartans’ only double-figure scorer. She added seven rebounds, two assists and a steal.

Forks, making its first state appearance since 1990, improved to 17-8.

Kellee Neal had a game-high 12 rebounds for the Tigers, who finished their year at 11-5.

Ephrata -- Whitaker 5-13 2-3 12, Conklin 0-1 0-0 0, Duff 0-0 0-0 0, McDonnell 0-2 0-0 0, Webb 1-13 0-0 3, Purcell 2-7 2-3 6, Neal 1-8 3-4 5, Nelson 2-6 1-2 5, Lange 0-1 0-0 0. Totals 11-51 8-12 31.
Forks -- Crippen 1-1 0-0 2, Obi 0-0 0-4 0, M. Leppell 2-5 1-2 5, A. Justus 2-9 0-0 4, Steveson 3-6 0-2 6, A. Justus 3-7 3-5 11, Santman 0-0 0-0 0, T. Leppell 2-7 3-6 8, Ironhill 1-4 0-0 2. Totals 14-39 7-19 38.
Ephrata	6	5	0	20	--	31
Forks	7	12	15	4	--	38
3-point goals--E 1-14 (Webb 1-8, Nelson 0-1, McDonnell 0-1, Conklin 0-1, Whitaker 0-1, Neal 0-2), F 3-13 (A. Justus 2-5, T. Leppell 1-3, M. Leppell 0-2, M. Justus 0-3). Rebounds--E 38 (Neal 12), F 36 (A. Justus 7). Assists--E 2 (Neal 2), F 7 (Steveson 4). Steals--E 11 (Whitaker 2, Conklin 2, Webb 2, Purcell 2, Lange 2), F 13 (T. Leppell 3). Blocked shots--E 2, F 0. Fouled out--Webb. Total fouls--E 14, F 12. Technical fouls--None. Turnovers--E 20, F 22.