With 10.8 seconds left in Goshen’s 38-37 win over Wyoming on Saturday, February 16, the Lady Warriors were in a less-than-ideal spot.

Wyoming was preparing to inbound the basketball with a two-point lead. Goshen had held an 11-1 lead at one point earlier in the game, but that was a distant memory as the Lady Warriors prepared to defend the inbound.

Sky Thomas tried to lob the ball over Goshen’s Paige Garr, who may have gotten just enough of the ball to send it spinning into the backcourt.

Sami Huhn scrambled to pick up the live ball. She then lobbed a pass to Abby Strunk, who tossed the ball to Whitney Turner at the left wing. Turner tossed the ball to Garr, who buried a three-point shot to put the Lady Warriors ahead.

Time remained on the clock, but by the time Wyoming was able to reset for the inbound, the buzzer had sounded.

Goshen head coach Mark Short said he had a good feeling about Garr’s shot.

“I thought we had a good chance,” Short said. “She hadn’t hit many during the day, so the odds were good she could hit this one. The kids found her, they made great passes. I think there were two or three passes to get it to her. They were thinking.”

Short gave a lot of credit to assistant coach Scott Wake, who gave the team an important message during Wyoming’s final timeout.

“I think we owe this one to Coach Wake,” Short said. “He just made all the right moves. During that last timeout, he looked at them, and he told them, ‘You’re going to win this. Somehow, you’re going to win this,’ and their eyes lit up. They did exactly what he told them to do, and it happened the same way he told them it was going to happen.”

It didn’t look like the Lady Warriors would need a late basket to win the game. The team jumped ahead 9-0 in the first quarter, and that strong start may have hurt them, according to Short.

“It almost was too good a start,” Short said. “They came back, and we had to fight like the dickens the rest of the way.”

A large reason for Wyoming’s comeback was Goshen’s inability to make shots. Short said that has happened to the team at times this year, but someone usually steps up.

“We didn’t shoot as well as usual,” Short said. “The way it’s been this year, either Paige [Garr] has shot well, or the rest of the team has shot well. In the first half, neither of those happened. We kept fighting on the defensive end. Let’s face it, we’re not going to be in the 70s, ever. We know that.”

“The best thing about it was their emotion,” Short said. “Kids you never expected to be so emotional. That’s why you do it. I’m just so blessed to have these kids. I told them in the locker room, I lost one of mine off my first team ever last week. No matter how old they get, they’ll always be your kids. I don’t know if people understand that sometimes. Days like this are what you live for.”

Goshen’s reward for the victory was a matchup with the No. 4 seed, Northwest. The Lady Warriors were scheduled to return to Walnut Hills on Wednesday, February 20 at 7:30 p.m. The result of that game was not available at press time.

Goshen’s Whitney Turner connected on a key three-point shot late in the Lady Warriors’ win over Wyoming at Walnut Hills High School on Saturday, February 16, 2019.
https://www.clermontsun.com/wp-content/uploads/2019/02/web1_Turner.jpgGoshen’s Whitney Turner connected on a key three-point shot late in the Lady Warriors’ win over Wyoming at Walnut Hills High School on Saturday, February 16, 2019.

By Garth Shanklin

Sports Editor