MANCHESTER, Tenn. – Much like the first two meetings, the No. 5 seed Shelbyville Central Golden Eaglettes (7-20, 0-8) struggled to keep up with the No. 4 ranked and top-seeded Cookeville Lady Cavaliers (24-3, 7-1) in a 70-33 loss on Saturday afternoon.

The loss sends the Eaglettes to the District 6-4A consolation game against No. 3 seed Lincoln County. 

Shelbyville Central was led by Dara Frazier’s team-high 13 points, but she was the only Eaglette to reach double-digits. Janiya Leslie chipped in with nine points of her own following her incredible buzzer-beater in the D9-4A quarterfinal.

For Cookeville, Allie Gillies led all scorers with a game-high 14 points, Taniah Dirkson added 13 points, and Cora Lee Gilbert chipped in with 10 points on a couple of three-pointers. The Lady Cavs went a combined 15-of-20 from the free throw line.

Early on, Cookeville raced out to a 21-8 lead by the end of the opening period. Gillies led the way with eight of her 14 points coming in the first, and Dirkson scored five of hers in the first quarter as well. Leslie led Shelbyville Central with four of her nine coming in the opening eight minutes.

In the second quarter, Cookeville outscored the Eaglettes by six, 16-10, to take a 37-18 lead heading into the halftime locker room. Dirkson scored six more in the second stanza while Frazier led Shelbyville Central with four points in the period.

Coming out for the second half, the Eaglettes actually outscored Cookeville, 15-14, to trim the lead to 51-33 heading into the final frame. Frazier knocked down a three-pointer and went 4-for-4 from the line, Leslie scored four points, and Shelbyville Central held Gillies and Dirkson to one point combined. Gilbert knocked in both of her threes while Sadie Garrett added another to maintain the double-digit lead.

Then in the fourth quarter, Cookeville ramped up the intensity, shutting out the Eaglettes, 19-0, to reach the final tally of 70-33. 

Shelbyville Central falls to 8-20 overall. The Eaglettes take on No. 3 seed Lincoln County in the District 6-4A consolation game at 6:00 p.m. on Monday night at Coffee County.

SHELBYVILLE: D. Frazier 13 (1), J. Leslie 9, J. Berry 6, K. Patton 4, Y. McFarland 1. 

COOKEVILLE: A. Gillies 14, T. Dirkson 13 (1), C. Gilbert 10 (2), C. Gilbert 9 (1), K. Stone 6, C. Roby 6, L. Gillies 5, M. Davis 4, S. Garrett 3 (1).