Eaglettes struggle in loss at Wilson Central

LEBANON -- It's always an adventure when Shelbyville Central ventures north to play Wilson Central and Saturday night was no exception in a 43-31 non-district loss for the Golden Eaglettes.

Shelbyville (13-9) took a couple of quarters to get its legs back after a very emotional and physical effort in Friday night's loss to District 8-AAA leader Lawrence County.

Callisha Johnson made the only basket in the first quarter for Shelbyville and Keely Sale added a free throw to trail Wilson Central 9-3.

Casandra Thompson put four on the board and Sydney Vanlandingham drained a trey to pace the home team while the Blue and Gold continued to be out of sync offensively, managing just five points and falling behind 18-8 at halftime.

Kailey Hornberger and Chernita Smith breathed some life into the Eaglettes with a 3-pointer apiece and Janie Graves added a bucket on a pretty drive through the lane to pull within 27-17 after three periods.

What had been a very deliberate game took on a frantic pace in the fourth quarter with both teams running the floor and combining for 31 points.

The Eaglettes made an impressive run at a comeback with Katlin Buchanan scoring seven points to pull the Blue and Gold to within eight midway through the period. It was as close as they would get as the Lady Wildcats cashed in on 11-of-17 free throws in the closing minutes.

Vanlandingham led all scorers with 13 points for Wilson Central.

Buchanan led the Eaglette effort with seven, all in the fourth quarter.

Shelbyville hosts district foe Tullahoma tonight.