Smith double-double sparks Eaglette win

COLUMBIA -- Sophomore post player Kelsie Smith had a double-double with 17 points and a dozen rebounds and a pair of teammates joined her in double figures as Shelbyville claimed a 55-48 win over host Columbia in a District 8-AAA matchup on Tuesday night.

Senior guards Callisha Johnson and Janie Graves added 13 points apiece for the Eaglettes (13-7, 6-2 8-AAA).

Shelbyville dominated the Lady Lions on the boards by a 42-25 margin.

"Rebounding was a big part of our game plan and we thought we could control the boards," Eaglettte coach Lynn Burkey said. "This was an extremely physical game and I'm very proud of how our girls battled on the glass."

The Eaglettes led 51-42 with 3:05 left to play but took a number of ill-advised shots in the closing minutes and Columbia scored seven unanswered points to cut the lead to 51-48 with 1:45 remaining.

Shelbyville's defense held strong from that point and the Eaglettes hit 4-of-4 free throws in the final minute to claim the victory.

"For the second game in a row, I thought we made some big free throws down the stretch," Burkey said. "With that said, we didn't do a very good job of managing the clock later in the game when we built a lead. We took some terrible shots. I assure you that we'll be working on game management and clock management in practice."

The Eaglettes built a 17-12 lead by the end of the first period and took a 25-21 advantage into halftime.

Shelbyville led as much as 10 points twice in the third quarter and took a 42-36 lead into the fourth.

"We came out in the second half much more ready to play," Burkey said. "We executed our offense a little bit better, came out and won the third quarter and that was huge for us."

The Eaglettes only made one shot from the field in the fourth stanza, a basket by Johnson at the 5:20 mark, but made the most at the free-throw line, connecting on 11-of-14 in the final eight minutes.

Shelbyville cashed in on 21-of-28 free throws in the game.

Monique Cotton led Columbia in scoring with a game-high 24 points. Rashawn Sparkman followed with 18.

Shelbyville entertains district-leading Lawrence County on Friday night for homecoming.