The Putnam County girls basketball team had a successful 2024-25 campaign.
The Lady War Eagles concluded last season with an overall record of 16-10, a second-place finish in Region 4 Class A Division I, and advanced to the Sweet 16 round of the state playoffs for the first time in five years.
Still, Putnam head coach Derrick Arrington and his girls are hungry for a better result in 2025-26. The team recently began workouts at the start of the month, with the goal of improving as a unit before the season starts.
“We came into the summer wanting to work on four small things. One of the smallest things that made a big difference was practicing harder. You know, we felt like in a game; we played as hard as we could, but we had poor practice habits,” Arrington told The Eatonton Messenger. “So, for our first week, we focused on just how to practice hard, and then we did something a little different with our schedule. We actually attended different camps and practiced with other teams to gauge the intensity and energy.”
Putnam’s girls attended a camp at Newton High School in Covington on June 6. The Lady War Eagles practiced with the Lady Rams, who went 25-5 overall and won the Class 6A state championship last season.
Putnam’s girls then scrimmaged against Washington-Wilkes, the runner-up in Class A Division II, and North Oconee, a semifinalist in Class 4A. The Lady War Eagles fared well against the competition they faced.
Arrington said his players also learned a lot from practicing with and scrimmaging those teams.
“I feel really good about the girls taking what we’re practicing to the summer games we’ve played, really focusing on the small things and details of off-ball defense and post defense,” Putnam’s coach said. “The coaching staff has done a great job emphasizing these details, and the girls have excelled in applying them.”
Arrington highlighted that Kedric Manning, the school’s head track coach, has created a conditioning program to help the athletes stay in shape during the offseason. He said it has tremendously assisted his players.
Arrington has emphasized the importance of training hard in the offseason.
“We focused a lot on conditioning,” Arrington said. “We got with our head track coach, and he put together a phenomenal conditioning program that we’ve been following every day in practice. It just feels really good to see all the pieces coming together. We’re making small goals day by day and achieving them, and now we’re going to set new goals for tomorrow.”
Putnam’s girls have responded well, especially returnees Journey Waller and Jaikarccie Smith. Other Lady War Eagles include Eriyana Little, Kadyn Dennis, Melody Richardson, and A’Ziyah Williams, among others.
Arrington didn’t want to provide specific names, but said some rising ninth-graders have been performing well, too.
“We have a couple of rising ninth graders playing with the varsity team this summer, and they’re doing a really good job,” Arrington said. “We have a rising sophomore guard who has grown a lot from freshman to sophomore year, and, of course, the usual names — our returning seniors are performing well, and the rising juniors are also doing great. Everyone who has been coming out this summer is taking steps to put together a really productive summer that we’ll carry over into the offseason and into the regular season.”
Putnam will wrap up its schedule next week with a trip to Clayton State to play its last summer league games.