Columbia, Tenn. – The Shelbyville Central Golden Eaglettes (11-7, 3-2) won their second-consecutive District 9-AAAA contest over the Columbia Central Lady Lions (4-14. 0-6) on Tuesday night, 70-63.

Eaglettes’ star, Lanaya Young, was nearly unstoppable all night, scoring 22 of her game-high 31 points in the second half to lead Shelbyville to a fourth-quarter comeback victory. She scored her 1,000th career point on an and-one layup near the end of the third quarter. 

Jada Berry scored 14 points while Janiya Leslie chipped in with 12 points for the Eaglettes. Berry had 10 of her 14 in Shelbyville’s 25-point fourth quarter. 

For Columbia Central, Natasia Barner led the way with a team-high 26 points, including 18 in the second half. Tristian Shaw was the only other Lady Lion to reach double-digits, finishing with 10 points on the night.

To start off, Shelbyville maintained a meager two-point lead after the first eight minutes of play, 10-8. Shaw led all scorers with six points in the first quarter while the Eaglettes missed seven free throws, shooting just 1/8 from the line. Shelbyville would finish the game just 9/21 from the charity stripe, but Columbia Central wasn’t much better shooting 11/24.

In the second quarter, Columbia Central took the lead and held a three-point advantage going into the halftime locker room, 26-23. Young, after hitting a three-pointer in the opening period, led Shelbyville with six points in the second, but Barner and Brooklyn Duke both matched her with six points apiece for the Lady Lions. 

Coming out for the second half, both teams began to pick up the pace on offense. Shelbyville would close the gap after outscoring Columbia Central, 22-21, in the third quarter to cut the lead to just two points, 47-45. Young was the high-scorer in the frame, accounting for 13 points to lead all scorers. Barner nearly matched her, scoring 10 of her own to help keep Columbia Central in front, but their lead would not last much longer. 

In the final frame, the Eaglette’s duo of Berry and Young proved to be too much for the Lady Lions to handle, combining for 19 of Shelbyville’s 25 points in the period. Barner was held to just eight points, allowing the Eaglettes to outscore the hosts by nine points in the fourth quarter, 25-16, to come away with their third district win of the season, 70-63.

Shelbyville improves to 11-7 (3-2) with their next game coming on Friday night on the road at unbeaten and the #2 ranked team in the state, Coffee County, LIVE on WLIJ 98.7 and AM 1580 starting at 5:45 p.m.