MANCHESTER, Tenn. – The No. 5 seed Shelbyville Central Golden Eaglettes (7-21, 0-8) controlled the majority of the District 6-4A consolation game against No. 3 seed Lincoln County (17-9, 4-4) until eventually falling in the final seconds, 41-40, inside Joe Frank Patch Gymnasium on Monday night.

The Lady Falcons’ Grasen Tipps knocked down the second of two free throws with 4.4 seconds remaining to take the one-point lead, and after Janiya Leslie was fouled at half court with 0.7 seconds to go, the Eaglettes were unable to get a shot off in time to beat the buzzer.

Shelbyville Central jumped in front early on, running out to a 15-6 lead at the end of the opening period. Janiya Leslie scored seven of her game-high 15 points in the first, and Jada Berry also got going with a pair of field goals inside the paint. The only points from Lincoln County came on a pair of three-pointers from Mattie Graham and Abby Curtis. 

In the second stanza, the Lady Falcons outscored the Eaglettes 16-9 to trim the lead to just two points heading into the halftime locker room, 24-22. Graham connected on another pair of triples, Curtis scored four more points, and Reagan Bragg hit the first of her four three-pointers. Jayda Frazier connected on a three-pointer while Leslie scored a pair of field goals to keep the Eaglettes in front.

Coming out for the second half, the Eaglettes’ offense continued to slow down, scoring just six points in the third quarter. However, they did manage to hold Lincoln County to eight points, entering the final frame knotted up at 30. Bragg knocked down a huge pair of three-pointers while Frazier, Leslie, and Berry each scored once inside the arc for the Eaglettes. 

In the fourth quarter, the two teams traded baskets and stops as the tension rose, eventually resulting in Shelbyville Central having possession as the clock ticked below a minute. The Eaglettes decided to go for the lead early, but after Leslie’s pull-up 15-footer was short, the Lady Falcons came down and posted up Tipps on the block with just under 10 seconds to go. Tipps was fouled, and after she split a pair to go up 41-40 with 4.4 seconds on the clock, the Eaglettes were ultimately unable to get off a potential game-winning shot that would have mirrored their district quarterfinal win at Warren County.

Shelbyville Central falls to 7-21 overall. The Eaglettes travel to the defending state champs ranked No. 1 in the state, Bradley Central, in the Region 3-4A Quarterfinals on Friday at 7:00 p.m.

The District 6-4A All-Season and All-Tournament teams were announced following the conclusion of the District 6-4A Championship game. Jada Berry was named to the All-Season team while Janiya Leslie was selected to the All-Tournament team for the Eaglettes.

SHELBYVILLE: J. Leslie 15 (1), J. Frazier 12 (2), J. Berry 9, Y. McFarland 2, K. Patton 2.

LINCOLN CO: A. Curtis 15 (1), R. Bragg 12 (4), M. Graham 9 (3), G. Tipps 5.