BY: Michael Shipma

The Goshen High School girl’s basketball team used tight defense and aggressive rebounding to defeat rival area opponent Elba High School 44-30 at home on Friday night.

With the victory, the Eagles (9-7, 4-0 2A Area 5) have now positioned themselves in first place in the Area 5 rankings. If they can retain that position for the remainder of the season, they will be able to claim home court advantage in the Area 5 championship tournament.

Goshen was led once again by standout freshman guard Bre’ Griffin, who scored 21 points, hauled in seven rebounds, and dished out five assists in her team’s win over the struggling Tigers.

Both teams had slow starts offensively, resulting in a 9-5 lead in Goshen’s favor after the first quarter. Throughout the game, the Eagles used a variety of tactics to slow down the Tigers including full court presses and tough half-court defense.

In the second period, both teams started to find their rhythm offensively, with Goshen extending their lead on fast break opportunities, while Elba relied more on half court sets to try and score. The Tigers continued to keep things close throughout the quarter, however, and kept the game within reach with the score at 25-17 in Goshen’s favor.

A monster third quarter from the Eagles, however, helped the home team pull away, as Goshen outscore Elba 11-2 in the period. Tough defense turned into quick points at the other end, and despite missing easy opportunities for points at the basket, the Eagles were able to widen the margin, taking a 36-19 lead into the fourth.

Griffin and the Eagles continued to battle into the fourth quarter, and were able to hold off Elba in the closing minutes to come away with the win.

“We wanted to control the boards coming into this one,” said Goshen head coach Fred Lowery after the game. “I think we really did that. We did a good job of limiting them to just one shot, boxing out, and crashing the boards.”

Goshen will return to action on Monday when they take on Brantley High School at home. Tipoff is scheduled for 6 p.m.