STAFF REPORT
SHELBYVILLE — For the first half on Monday night against Columbia, the Shelbyville Central Golden Eaglettes (13-10, 2-6) found themselves in a battle that led to a one-point difference by halftime.
While the Eaglettes were incredibly efficient in first-half shooting, offense became hard to come by in the second half as Columbia (20-6, 5-4) escaped with a 54-42 win over the Eaglettes.
Virtually everything was falling for the Eaglettes in the first half.
As a team, Shelbyville connected on 12-of-16 shots from the floor, while Kayla Crawford powered the Lady Wildcat offense with nine first-half points.
The hot-shooting Eaglettes hit four 3-pointers in the first half, with Sammie Brown making good on 2-of-3 tries from the arc and Lilly Brown going 4-for-4 from the floor.
By halftime, senior Paige Blackburn had scored seven, Lilly Brown had scored eight and Sammie Brown had added six.
Even with the efficiency, Columbia clung to a 30-29 lead at the half.
While the Eaglettes gave Columbia everything it could handle in the first half, the offense was a struggle in the second half.
As a team, Shelbyville hit just four second-half field goals, while Columbia continued to maintain its scoring and added 12 points in each of the third and fourth quarters.
Blackburn led the Eaglettes with 11 points, while Crawford led Columbia with 17.
The Eaglettes will be back on their home court on Tuesday, hosting Spring Hill at 6 p.m.
Columbia 13 17 12 12 — 54
Shelbvyille 12 17 5 8 — 42
Columbia: Kayla Crawford 17, Saviya Morgan 13, Anaya Mulholland 11, Tianna Davis 8, Brooklyn Duke 3, Kiyanah Edwards 2.
Shelbyville: Paige Blackburn 11, Yasmine McFarland 8, Lilly Brown 8, Sammie Brown 8, Lanaya Young 5, Morgan Pridmore 2.
3-Point goals: Shelbyville (6): McFarland 2, Blackburn 2, Brown 2; Columbia (3): Crawford, Mulholland, Morgan.
Halftime score: Columbia 30, Shelbyville 29.
