Eaglettes win 8-AAA season crown

Alex Jarrell used her huge height advantage and scored a game-high 18 points for the Eaglettes. (T-G Photo by Gary Johnson) [Click to enlarge]

TULLAHOMA -- Shelbyville Central's 48-26 win Tuesday night at Tullahoma won't go down as one of their most impressive, but it did give the Eaglettes sole possession of the District 8-AAA regular season title.

They also captured an opening round bye in the upcoming district tournament and an automatic berth in the Region 4-AAA tournament.

"The regular season championship, opening round bye in the district and berth into the region are very positive things and something to be very proud of," Shelbyville coach Lynn Burkey said. "Nobody gave us that and it's been hard earned and this was a big win, even though it wasn't an impressive win, even though we had to win tonight not to share that district title with Lawrence County."

Shelbyville (19-5, 11-1 8-AAA) defeated tenth-ranked Lawrence County in both regular season games and held the head-to-head advantage.

With the district regular season over, two quality opponents remain. Fourth-ranked Mt. Juliet visits Saturday night before the Eaglettes travel to Murfreesboro on Monday to face defending state champion Riverdale in the regular-season finale.

"The Eaglettes don't take a break," Burkey said. "We've got two very strong teams remaining on our schedule and we're looking to take some momentum into the tournaments."

After leading only 13-10 at the end of the first quarter, the Eaglettes scored 10 unanswered points at the start of the second frame on their way to a 26-14 lead at the half.

Shelbyville point guard Sha'Para Johnson soars between a pair of Tullahoma defenders as she sails to the basket. (T-G Photo by Gary Johnson) [Click to enlarge]

Shelbyville continued to roll in the third, starting the second half with a 12-2 run before posting a 40-20 lead going into the final eight minutes.

Tullahoma didn't have an answer for post Alex Jarrell who led all scorers with 18 points, including 10 in the first half. Ceny Phelps added 11 for the Eaglettes.

Desiree Seay led the Lady Wildcats with a dozen points, including 10 in the first quarter.

Burkey looks back at the district regular season schedule and sees both highs and lows.

"We had some big early wins in the district early like over Franklin County and Lawrence County, then had that horrible game we lost at Columbia then turned back around and got a huge win on the road at Lawrence County followed by a win at home over Columbia," Burkey said. "I really think this district regular season has allowed us to grow as a team and all that experience will hopefully make us better in the postseason."