Consistency will be necessary for the Goshen Eagles to find success as they enter area play.

The Lady Eagles, (4-4), have used a strong transition game to spark the first half of their season, but that won’t be enough for area play.

“The strength we do have right now is in our transition game,” said Eagles head coach Fred Lowery. “We are just not consistent right now. That’s the one thing that we are going to be preaching to them about.”

Lowery is in his first year as head coach, and he said building the team is critical to success.

“They have had a new coach once every other year,” Lowery said. “Youth is one thing, but they need to start learning how to play with one another for us to be successful.”

Even with the struggles offensively and the inconsistent play, the Eagles have shown heart and have been competitive because of the hard work and willingness to win, he said.

“We have been really communicating and the hustle has really been there,” Lowery said. “The effort is there. We just have to be really consistent and set the tempo of the game. We have tendency because we are young to play down or up according to the talent that we are playing. We need to play Goshen basketball, regardless of whom we are playing.”

Sisters Bre and Shamiya Griffin are the heart and soul of the team. Shamiya, a junior, is the more vocal leader while Bre silently leads with her on-court performance. The young freshman leads the Eagles’ transition game and averages over 20 points per game After averaging 30 points per game early in the season.

“They have been huge,” Lowery said. “For lack of a better term, they have been the player. They have been scoring. Shamiya has actually picked up the scoring. She has been our leading scorer the last handful of ball games.”

With area play now here, the wins and loses more important. And Lowery knows the pressure his young team will face.

“We want to go in and we want to be the team to beat in the area,” Lowery said. “We are going to take it a quarter and a game at a time and see how it goes.”

The Eagles will be in action on Jan. 5 when they travel to Elba to play the Tigers.