Shelbyville, Tenn. – The Shelbyville Central Golden Eaglettes (12-8, 4-3) got back to winning ways against District 9-AAAA foe, the Warren County Lady Pioneers (7-17, 4-4), 63-49, inside of Rick Insell Gymnasium on Tuesday night.

Facing off against former head coach, Kyle Turnham, for the second time this season following a 50-43 Eaglettes’ victory on the road back on January 17, the Eaglettes took an 11-point lead after the first quarter and never looked back. 

Lanaya Young, after being held to just six points at Coffee County on Friday, found her offensive rhythm again, connecting on a team-high 16 points, including going 4/4 from the charity stripe down the stretch in the fourth quarter. Yasmine McFarland joined Young in double-figures with 12 points of her own, while Morgan Pridemore chipped in with 10 points on the night. Jada Berry and Janiya Leslie each scored eight points apiece as Shelbyville reverted back to a much more balanced offensive attack.

Warren County’s Trinity Reynolds led all scorers with a game-high 20 points. She connected on three three-pointers in the first half, then scored her 11 second-half points all inside the arc and at the free-throw line. Brinlee Griffith was the only other Lady Pioneer to reach double-digits with 10 points.

To start, the Eaglettes’ were dialed in defensively. Reynolds connected on a three, but that was the only field goal the Pioneers would score in the opening period. Pridemore connected on a trio of layups, Leslie found the range from downtown, and Shelbyville turned their defensive intensity into a 16-5 lead at the end of the first quarter.

In the second, Warren County dialed up three three-pointers as a team, but Shelbyville had five different players score a bucket in the period to match the Lady Pioneers. At halftime, the Eaglettes maintained their 11-point lead, 29-18, after both teams scored 13 points in the quarter.

Coming out of the halftime locker room, Warren County began to ramp up the defensive intensity while also finding some offensive flow of their own. Young was held to two points, Berry completed a three-point play the old-fashioned way, and Nijah Gray scored four of her five total points in the third quarter, but the Lady Pioneers outscored Shelbyville, 14-12, to cut the lead to nine points, 41-32, heading into the final frame. Reynolds connected on a pair of two-point field goals and also a pair of foul shots while teammates Griffith and Chloe Wanamaker each converted old-fashioned three-point plays. 

In the fourth quarter, the Eaglettes finally began to pull away from the Lady Pioneers, outscoring Warren County by five, 22-17. As a team, Shelbyville converted on 9/12 free throws in the final frame alone with Young finishing a perfect 4/4 to help close out the 14-point home win, 63-49.

Shelbyville, who has had its fair share of troubles at the free-throw line all season long as a team, shot 70% at the line in Tuesday’s win, 14/20, which tends to be a recipe for success for the Eaglettes.

SCHS improves to 12-8 (4-3) and moves a half-game ahead of Warren County for third place in District 9-AAAA. The Eaglettes travel to second-place Lincoln County on Friday night, LIVE on WLIJ 98.7 and AM 1580 starting at 5:45 p.m.