By Michael Shipma

The Goshen High School girls basketball team picked up a come-from-behind 60-40 victory over Highland Home on Friday, Nov. 20 on its home court.

The Lady Eagles (1-0, 0-0 2A Area 5) were led by freshman guard Bre Griffin, who was able to lead her team to victory after falling behind 21-14 in the first half of a turnover-ridden contest.

“We were a little rusty because of some first game jitters,” said Goshen head coach Fred Lowery after the game. “At halftime I told them to turn the intensity up and to have fun. All (Highland Home) did in the first half was out-hustle us.”

Thanks to some early turnovers from Goshen, the Flying Squadron (0-1, 0-0 2A Area 6) were able to put together a 9-15 lead over the Eagles, who struggled shooting the ball in the opening quarter. It wasn’t until the second quarter that Goshen was able to find some rhythm on offense through ball movement and defensive pressure.

Goshen’s elevated play started to pay off in the closing minutes of the first half, and after Goshen scored on a put-back shot off an offensive rebound, the Eagles claimed their first lead of the game with seconds left in the half and the score at 24-23 in their favor.

Highland Home made a free throw just before the half, making the score 24-24 going into the locker room.

The second half was a completely different story for both sides, as Goshen outscored the Flying Squadron 20-6 in the third quarter. Griffin continued to impress on the offensive end, finding open teammates when she wasn’t scoring herself. She finished a productive night with 18 points, including four of eight shooting from the free throw line.

The Eagles also carried their defensive momentum from the second quarter into the third, forcing Highland Home to turn the ball over multiple times coming out of the break.

Goshen continued to extend its lead in the fourth quarter, creating turnovers on the defensive end that in turn led to fast break points on the offensive end. The Flying Squadron never was able to regroup from their mistakes, and when the dust settled, Goshen was on the upper end of a 60-40 score.

“It’s always good to get a win like this,” Lowery said.

“It’s always good to win at home. We’ve got a lot of work to do, but we’ll make some adjustments this weekend in practice and then go from there.”

The Eagles return to action on Tuesday, when they travel to Highland Home. Tipoff is scheduled for 6 p.m.