By GARY JOHNSON ~ gjohnson@t-g.com
An impressive second half led the way as Shelbyville Central rolled to a 42-29 victory over visiting Forrest on Tuesday night.
After leading only 14-12 at the intermission, the Eaglettes (4-1) outscored the Lady Rockets (3-4) 28-17 in the second half to secure the victory.
"For us, one of the big keys is being able to score so we can get into our press. Early on we didn't score at all. I thought they came in and played with a tremendous amount of confidence and were the aggressor while we were on our heels," Eaglette coach Kyle Turnham said. "We finally made some shots and had a chance to get our pressure in gear and that was the turning point of the game for us."
Shelbyville Central's full court press led to a number of Lady Rocket turnovers and then transition points.
"I felt like we had a good game plan coming in but the bottom line was our inability to handle the ball," Forrest coach Hal Murrell said. "We just didn't do what we needed to do and a lot of that had to do with their defensive pressure. We missed too many free throws and we've got to do a better job of handling the basketball."
The Eaglettes doubled the Lady Rockets score in the third stanza and held a 32-21 advantage going into the fourth quarter.
Sophomore Paige Blackburn led Shelbyville Central in scoring with 17 points, including a dozen in the second half.
Macyn Kirby pitched in 15 points to lead the Lady Rockets.
Shelbyville Central hosts Lincoln County on Thursday evening at 6, while Forrest looks to rebound at Eagleville on Friday.
Forrest 8 4 9 8 — 29
Shelbyville Central 5 9 18 10 — 42
Forrest: Macyn Kirby 15, Megan Mealer 1, Addison Bunty 1, Kindee Inlow 5, Ryann Lewis 5, Alex Davenport 2.
Shelbyville Central: Lilly Brown 6, Jaz Weston 2, Taylor Wessner 4, Lanaya Young 7, Paige Blackburn 17, Sammie Brown 6.
3-Point goals: Shelbyville (4): Blackburn 3, Wessner; Forrest (2): Kirby, Inlow.
Halftime score: Shelbyville Central 14, Forrest 12.
