The Shelbyville Central Golden Eaglettes fell to the Coffee County Lady Raiders in the first Region 5-AAAA semifinal on Monday night at Centennial High School, 40-24.
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A scoreless second quarter ended up being the difference in the Shelbyville Central Golden Eaglettes’ loss to the fourth-ranked Coffee County Lady Red Raiders, 40-24, in Monday’s first Region 5-AAAA semifinal at Centennial High School.
Coming off of an impeccable defensive performance at Page in the region quarterfinal, Shelbyville simply had no answer offensively for Coffee County’s own defensive effort in the second and third quarters as they were outscored 29-7 over the course of the middle 16 minutes.
It was the fourth matchup between the team teams this season, and this time Coffee County did not allow a single Eaglette to reach double-digit scoring.
Seniors Paige Blackburn, Lily Brown, and Sammie Brown finished with a team-high eight points, four points, and three points, respectively, as their impressive careers in Shelbyville came to a close. Lanaya Young chipped in with four points, and Jaz Western added five points, all in the fourth quarter.
Channah Gannon led all scorers with a game-high 12 points, shooting 6/6 from the field, and she was joined in double-figures by Natalie Barnes with 10 points. Audri Patton and Olivia Vinson added seven points apiece as well.
Shelbyville started the game well, ending the first quarter tied at 9-9. Lily Brown scored all four of her points in the opening period, and Sammie Brown converted on her only three-pointer as well.
However, the second quarter is when cracks began to show themselves in the Eaglettes’ offensive armor. After matching the Lady Raiders pace in the first, Shelbyville went ice cold in the second, and they went into the halftime locker room trailing 23-9 after shooting 0/9 in the period.
Senior star Paige Blackburn struggled to find the range in the first half as she was held scoreless, a stark contrast from her 24-point performance earlier in the season against the Lady Raiders.
Blackburn would respond in the third quarter, knocking down both of her field goal attempts, a three and a two, but Lanaya Young’s two points were the only help she received as Coffee County extended their lead to 38-16 going into the final frame.
Blackburn and Western were the only Eaglettes to score in the eight-point fourth quarter. Despite holding Coffee County to two points as they slowed the pace, it was too little too late, and Shelbyville's season came to a close at Centennial High School, 40-24.
Coffee County improves to 30-3 (10-0), and in spite of the many great teams they have had recently, advance to their first region championship game in 31 years. The Lady Raiders will take on the Lincoln County Lady Falcons in a rematch of a tightly contested District 9-AAAA Championship game on Wednesday night at 7:00 p.m.
The Shelbyville Central Golden Eaglettes up-and-down season ends at 17-12 (3-7). With the departure of 1,000 point-scorer Paige Blackburn, Lily Brown, and Sammie Brown from an already thin team, it will be interesting to see how head coach Kyle Turnham has this team playing next season in what is sure to include some rebuilding pains. Fortunately for the Eaglettes, starters Lanaya Young and Jaz Western will be returning for their senior seasons.
