MCMINNVILLE, Tenn. – After suffering a pair of close losses at the hands of No. 4 seed Warren County (14-12, 3-5) during the regular season, the No. 5 seed Shelbyville Central Golden Eaglettes (8-19, 0-8) found a way to win in dramatic fashion and keep their season alive on Monday night in the District 6-4A Tournament play-in game, 30-27.

Shelbyville’s Janiya Leslie, who finished with a game-high 16 points and was the only player to reach double-figures in the low-scoring defensive affair, rose up from 30 feet and knocked down her second triple of the night to end Warren County’s season in walk-off fashion.

The Eaglettes guard atoned for her split pair of free throws the previous possession, as it had allowed Warren County’s Trinity Reynolds to tie the game on a desperation corner three-pointer with about 20 seconds to go. Shelbyville’s freshman point guard, Dara Frazier, who scored three big points in the fourth quarter, found Leslie on the perimeter just in time for Leslie to launch the game-winner.

This win marks the first time that the Eaglettes have taken down a District 6-4A team this season. The two previous matchups between Shelbyville Central and Warren County ended with the Pioneerettes securing a pair of hotly contested wins, but the third time ended up being the charm for Eaglettes’ head coach Keshia Jarrett. Jarrett’s team forced 17 Pioneerette turnovers, and only turned the ball over 10 times themselves. Despite finishing just 4-of-18 at the free throw line, the Eaglettes found a way to hold on.

From the jump, this game looked like it would be a low-scoring defensive battle with Warren County taking a 9-7 lead at the end of the opening period behind a pair of triples from Reynolds and Cortlyn Porter. Leslie scored three points in the first, and Jada Berry and Sequoyah Young each added a two-point field goal for the Eaglettes.

In the second stanza, Shelbyville Central held Warren County without a field goal, allowing the Pioneerettes to score just a single free throw as the Eaglettes took a 13-10 lead heading into the halftime locker room. Leslie knocked down her first three-pointer of the night in the second while Berry added three more points to put the Eaglettes in front.

Coming out for the second half, the visitors continued their free throw struggles. In the first half, Shelbyville Central went 2-for-6 at the line, but the misses kept coming in the third quarter, missing two pairs of free throws to allow Warren County tie the game at 17 heading into the final frame. Leslie scored all four points in the third for Shelbyville. 

In the fourth quarter, the Eaglettes continued to struggle at the line, going 2-for-8 to allow the Pioneerettes to eventually tie the game at 27 after Reynolds’ corner three. Then, Leslie, who scored six of her 16 points in the fourth quarter alone, stepped up at the horn to punch Shelbyville Central’s ticket into the District 6-4A semifinals.

The Eaglettes improve to 8-19 overall. They are set to take on No. 1 seed and No. 4 ranked Cookeville in the District 6-4A semifinals at Coffee County on Saturday with tip-off scheduled for 2:00 p.m.

SHELBYVILLE: J. Leslie 16 (2), J. Berry 7, D. Frazier 3, K. Patton 2, S. Young 2.

WARREN CO.: B. Chisam 8 (1), T. Reynolds 6 (2), A. Oleksik 3, Cortlyn Porter 3 (1), A. Steakley 3, H. Kennerly 2, K. Simpson 2.