By Gary Johnson
Sports Writer
Shelbyville Central’s Golden Eaglettes are looking forward to a competitive and successful season as the team features a lot of leadership and experience.
The Golden Eaglettes return all five starters including three seniors and a pair juniors.
Seniors Paige Blackburn, Lilly Brown and Samie Brown will be called upon to provide outstanding leadership while juniors Lanaya Young and Jaz Western complete the starting five for Shelbyville Central.
“We return basically all five starters from last year and four from the year before,” Golden Eaglette coach Kyle Turnham said. “I think it’s fair to say that we will count on our experience throughout the season and look forward to having a successful season.”
Shelbyville Central’s starting five each bring something different to the playing floor and compliment one another on the court. They each have added different elements and skill sets to their game.
“Paige Blackburn has a well deserved reputation of being a great scorer. She is a very good 3-point shooter that can score off the bounce. We will play her some at the point as well as other places. She sees the floor well. She is excellent in transition and by far our best perimeter passer. Defensively, she is very aggressive and always leads us in steals,” Turnham said.
“Lilly has been an undersized post player for us in the past but now she will face the basket more. She is shooting the 3-point shot now more than she has in the past and she is our leading rebounder. She’s a valuable asset to this team,” Turnham said.
“Sammy is also a fantastic 3-point shooter that has the ability to put the ball on the floor as well. She is an excellent offensive rebounder, along with Lilly. Sammy will play a number of different positions on the floor,” Turnham said.
“Lanaya plays point and will play at wing also. She can score off the dribble and has really worked on her 3-point shot as well,” Turnham said. “She spearheads our defense as well.
“Jaz is just such an intangible player that can do so many different things. She starts at wing, is a backup at point and is just so versatile. She plays really hard on defense and that is huge,” Turnham said.
The Golden Eaglettes now play in District 9-4A and that will be a tough district that includes Coffee County, Warren County, Lincoln County, Columbia Central and Spring Hill.
