The Goshen Lady Eagles snatched a spot in the Central Regional tournament with a 41-37 win over the Horseshoe Bend Lady Generals Thursday in the 2A sub-regional in Goshen.

“The girls are very excited,” Hornbuckle said. “They’ve had a taste of victory, and now they are hungry for it. We want to win.”

The game was tight from the beginning, with the Lady Eagles never holding more than a four-point lead throughout the game.

At the end of the first quarter, the Lady Eagles led 12-10, and at the half, the girls solidified their lead 25-21.

There was very little movement on the scoreboard by either team in the third, with the Lady Eagles ending the quarter with a 29-25 lead.

Early in the second half, the Lady Eagles had seven fouls to the Lady Generals two, and head coach Lindsey Hornbuckle said she felt like some of the fouls weren’t justified.

“Overall, the referees in the tournament have been wonderful, but I don’t really feel that some of those calls were justified,” Hornbuckle said. “I told the girls, I didn’t want this game to be lost or won by free throws.”

Hornbuckle said that the Lady Eagles’ offense was not having a good night, and that a team effort was the only way that they pulled through with the win.

“Our offense was just having an off night, and as a team, we had to make up for that,” Hornbuckle said. “We made up for it with fundamentals and defense. As a team, we had to take care of each others weaknesses.”

DeAnna McLeod led the Lady Eagles in scoring with nine points during the first half and 12 points during the second.

McLeod said the Lady Eagles won because they had to win.

“Everyone played harder because we had to win,” she said. “We had to go hard or go home. We lose as a team, and we win as a team.”

This will be Hornbuckle’s first time going to the regional tournament as a head coach, but she said she feels optimistic about her team’s chances.

Hornbuckle said she would love for the entire Goshen fan base to come out and support the Lady Eagles as they take on R.C. Hatch Feb. 17 at 3 p.m. in Montgomery at the Alabama State University ACADome.