Eaglette alumni ready to return to hardwood

Have the pain reliever, heating pads and pickle juice ready come Sunday because several ladies are likely to be a little sore after dusting off the cobwebs to play some basketball Saturday night.

It's all for a good cause, however, as Golden Eaglettes from ages 14 to 93 will be at Shelbyville Central to help raise money to bring the Boys & Girls Club to town.

Tickets are available at Bedford Drug, Bob Parks Realty, New Covenant Christian Bookstore, First Community Bank, People's Bank and U.S. Bank. They are $5 with children 5-under free.

What's sure to be a night to remember is scheduled to start at 5 p.m. with all current and former Eaglettes being announced to the crowd.

The Eaglette alumni that played during the 3-on-3 half-court era take the court first before the 5th-6th grade travel teams from Community and Shelbyville compete for 15 minutes.

A couple of retired uniforms may have to come out of glass cases next as more former Central stars tip off.

It wasn't easy tracking down many of the names that are scheduled to take part in the action, but plenty of faces the crowd is sure to recognize will attempt to tickle the twine once again.

Some of the stars of yesteryear who committed are: Sherry Batten, Anisha Buchanan, Ashley Johnson, Linda Motes, Angela Moorehead, Anita Overcast, Kary Snyder, Christy West, April Wessner and Tiffany Woosley.

Beth Bobo, Gloria West and Mitzi Rice are slated to act as coaches.

One format that was brought up for discussion pitted the Eaglettes from the 80s and early 90s against their younger counterparts.

"It's going to be a challenge for us just because we are older. We would probably have to be a lot smarter than those kids," said Woosley, who last played on Central's floor was in 1991. The last time she played in an organized game was with the WNBA's Houston Comets in 1998.

Regardless of what the scoreboard reads, the real winner of the evening will be the young people who will hopefully one day get to enjoy time at a local Boys & Girls Club, which would be located at the former Harris Middle/Central High on Elm Street.

"It's a special event No. 1 because it's a charity event for the Boys & Girls Club, raising money," Woosley said. "It's awesome to bring something like this to Shelbyville.

"Second of all, to bring back some of the memories of the era of playing, I'm sure it will be exciting for the fans as well as for some of the players that I haven't seen in years. It would be nice to reminisce those old times again because I do miss them."

The full-court alumni game will consist of four six-minute quarters. At halftime there will be another 15-minute running clock to allow 5th-6th grade teams from Cascade and Liberty to play.