By GARY JOHNSON - gjohnson@t-g.com
An aggressive press and pressure defense helped Shelbyville Central’s Golden Eaglettes pull away in the second half in a 64-40 win at Cascade on Tuesday evening.
“I thought we looked a little sluggish in the first half. We didn’t push the ball and certainly didn’t guard at a high level,” Eaglette coach Kyle Turnham said. “Even though we scored more points than usual in the first half, giving up 15 points in the second quarter isn’t like us.”
Shelbyville Central doubled the Lady Champions’ score in the first quarter and led 16-8 on the way to a 32-23 halftime advantage at halftime.
The Eaglettes outscored Cascade 32-17 in the second half as their full-court press led to transition points.
“As it has happened so many times this year, we responded with a big third quarter to stretch the lead,” Turnham said.
Sammie Brown led the winners in scoring with 19 points. Paige Blackburn and Lilly Brown followed with 11 points each.
Lani Jones’ 11 tallies paced Cascade.
“We were more consistent tonight on offense than we have been all season and we’re making progress,” Turnham said, “I like the trajectory of this team.”
The Eaglettes (8-2) face Community on the road Friday while Cascade travels to Lincoln County. Both games begin at 6 p.m.
Shelbyville Central 16 16 19 13 - 64
Cascade 8 15 8 9 - 40
Shelbyville Central (64) - Jaleigha Harris 9, Paige Blackburn 11, Lilly Brown 11, Sammy Brown 19, Tamara Uredi 2, Lanaya Young 8.
Cascade (40) - Lani Jones 11, Caroline Stone 6, Sophie Ray 8, Isabella Rhodes 2, MMer 2, Calvert 8 Green 2.
3-point goals - Shelbyville Central (4): S. Brown 2, Blackburn, Young; Cascade (1): Jones.
Halftime - Shelbyville Central 32, Cascade 23.
