The Shelbyville Central Eaglettes staved off elimination with a dominant defensive performance in the Region 5-AAAA Quarterfinal at the Page Lady Patriots on Friday, 34-28.
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The Shelbyville Central Golden Eaglettes defeated the Page Lady Patriots, 34-28, in a dominant defensive performance on the road in their Region 5-AAAA Quarterfinal game on Friday night.
Page came into the game with a very impressive 24-8 record overall, but it was the Lady Patriots’ 14-0 district record in the regular season that caught many people’s attention. However, after losing their only district contest of the season to Nolensville in the District 10-AAAA Championship, 40-38, the Eaglettes would surprisingly be traveling to what was presumed to be the best District 10 challenger in Region 5 after beating Columbia in double overtime in the District 9 consolation game.
That was not to be the case, as Shelbyville and Coach Kyle Turnham came in with a stellar gameplan after having an entire week to prepare and left Franklin with a massive win.
The defense was excellent from the very jump, but Shelbyville’s offense was the story in the first quarter. The Eaglettes jumped out to a 16-5 lead to set the tone after the opening frame, spearheaded by Lanaya Young’s six points.
The offensive attack was about as balanced as could be for the Eaglettes with four players scoring seven points apiece: Jaz Western, Paige Blackburn, Lily Brown, and Lanaya Young. Sammie Brown chipped in with six points as well.
Page began to settle down in the second quarter, stiffening up defensively to hold the visitors to just three points in the second quarter on a three-pointer by Western. However, the Lady Patriots were only able to counter with six points themselves, going into the halftime locker room trailing Shelbyville 19-11 in this win-or-go-home affair.
Page’s Lily Espelet started to find her rhythm from the field in the third quarter, scoring five of her game-high 16 points after connecting on both of her field goal attempts to cut the Eaglettes’ lead to 25-19 going into the final frame.
Espelet had five more points in the fourth quarter, but only two teammates – Samantha Lee and Miah Cabale – joined her on the scoresheet with eight and four points respectively.
After a Paige Blackburn three-pointer, the Eaglettes would hit just enough free throws to close out the Lady Patriots, 34-28, after holding Page to 3/11 shooting from the field in the final eight minutes to cap off the incredible defensive performance.
For all their efforts, the Eaglettes get another rematch with Coffee County in the region semifinals at Centennial High School on Monday. This will be the fourth and final matchup of the season between the two programs, and despite the Lady Raiders having won all three prior meetings, this will be the first time the pressure is truly on the team from Manchester.
Page’s incredible season ends with a two game losing streak and a record of 24-9 (14-0).
Shelbyville Central improves to 17-12 (3-7) and advances to play Coffee County on Monday night LIVE on WLIJ 98.7 and AM 1580 starting at 5:45 p.m. with tip-off at 6:00.
