The Goshen Lady Eagles planned on using Tuesday night’s area showdown with Elba as a measuring stick for their program.

Head Coach Jonathan Shedd saw things that were positives, but also saw a lot of negatives in Goshen’s 57-23 loss to the Tigers.

The Eagles led the Tigers early on in the contest, only to see the lead evaporate quickly, and Tigers pull away.

“I like the way we played in the first quarter, even though I think we were down at the end of it,” said Shedd. “We pressed them, and made them kick it out and in return they pressed us. We were able to get some good shots, and played very well in the first quarter.”

Shedd said the Eagles got tired late in the game and it affected their judgment, something that he said will be worked on over the next few days at practice.

“We have to learn how to play through being tied,” said Shedd. “We are not where we need to be conditioning wise, and it shows against the better team. When you get tired little things show up, and can create problems. It’s not something that can be fixed in a week, but it can be improved on.”

The Eagles are in the middle area play, and would have liked to pick up the win against Elba to ensure that the area tourney would be played in the friendly confines of their gym.

The loss gave Elba a leg up the area title race, but Shedd feels that his team can make some noise later in the year.

“Elba is a very good basketball team,” said Shedd. “We get to see them at least two more times, and it is very difficult for a team to beat another three times in one season. We have to win out for a shot to host the tournament, and Elba will be the next area game for us. We have to be ready.”

Goshen will have to wait until Tuesday for another area game. Before travelling to Elba, for what turns out to be a must-win if they want to host the tourney, the Eagles must face two tough opponents on the road, Opp and Providence Christian.

“We have two tough games against Opp and Providence before area play gets going again,” said Shedd. “We will have to get some momentum back and try to get hot before going down to Elba next week.”

If there is a tie for area champion, the tournament site will be determined by a coin flip. The Eagles travel to Opp on Thursday. Tip-off is set for 4:30 p.m.