STAFF REPORT
SHELBYVILLE — It was a stead, workman like effort from the Golden Eagles that landed the first district win of the season on Friday as Shelbyville Central got big production from three in double figures to land the 59-47 win over the Red Raiders.
Out of the gates, the Golden Eagle defense made sure Coffee County would be uncomfortable in the half court and allowed just five points,
Meanwhile, the Golden Eagle offense showcased its balance by jumping out to a 15-5 lead, with seven points coming from Jevon Lee.
While Coffee County eventually got shots to fall in the second period, Shelbyville continued to rely on its deep rotation of scorers and padded its lead with 13 more points to build a 28-15 lead by halftime.
Not much changed in the second half as the visitors were able to nearly match Shelbyville, but again, the balance showed with Jordon Taylor, Tae’Shawn Shelton and Lee each recording four points in the quarter.
Although Coffee County did rally for 19 in the fourth, Shelbyville pitched in 17 more to ensure there would be no valiant Red Raider comeback.
The Golden Eagles’ were led by three in double figures, with Lee’s 19 points being the top mark of the night.
Taylor added 14 while Shelton turned in a 13 point night.
The Golden Eagles also shot it well from the charity stripe, going 7-of-11 for the night, but perhaps even more impressive was Shelbyville was able to lock down a double-digit district win without making a single three-point field goal, while Coffee County connected on six treys.
Coffee Co. 5 10 13 19 — 47
Shelbyville 15 13 14 17 — 59
Shelbyville: Jevon Lee 19, Jordan Taylor 14, Tae’Shawn Shelton 13, Tommie Cannon 7, Jack Conditt 2, Jasiah Taylor 2, Josiah Berry 2.
Halftime score: Shelbyville 28, Coffee Co. 15.
COFFEE CO. 57, SHELBYVILLE 54
SHELBYVILLE — It was a tough way to open District 6-4A play on Friday night for the Shelbyville Central Golden Eaglettes.
After building a slim, first-half lead against Coffee County, the Lady Raiders rallied for 36 second-half points to clip Shelbyville, 57-54.
While it was by no means an offensive masterpiece for the Eaglettes in the first half, Shelbyville got quality production from Jada Berry in the paint, notably in the first quarter as she tallied six of the first 15 Eaglette points.
While Coffee County matched Shelbyville’s 15-point effort in the first, Berry continued to hammer away off the block and helped the Eaglettes build a 26-21 lead by halftime.
But after halftime, Coffee County’s Kaysen Morgan came out on fire from the perimeter and knocked down three of her total seven treys in the third quarter to spur on a 15-point rally by the Lady Raiders.
Still, Shelbyville was able to continue working its offense and held a three-point lead after three quarters.
But Morgan continued her relentless perimeter attack and drilled three more treys in the fourth quarter.
Coffee County also shot 3-of-4 from the free throw line down the stretch to help lock down the win, while Shelbyville only connected on 1-of-2 attempts at the line in the fourth frame.
Berry’s 20 points was only outshined by Morgan, who pitched in a game-high 21 points.
Dara Frazier joined Berry in double figures and finished with 13.
Coffee Co. 15 6 15 21 — 57
Shelbyville 15 11 13 15 — 54
Shelbyville: Jada Berry 20, Dara Frazier 13, Jayda Frazier 6, Janiya Leslie 5, Kenley Patton 4, Yasmine McFarland 3, Sequoyah Young 3.
3-Point goals: Shelbyville (6): D. Frazier 3, J. Frazier, Young, Leslie.
Halftime score: Shelbyville 26, Coffee Co. 21.