The Putnam County girls’ basketball team edged out rival Morgan County 47-45 last Thursday night on the road.
The Lady Dogs were set to inbound the ball with under five seconds left in the game, and they heaved up a prayer down to the other end of the court. The ball was thrown too far, and the Lady War Eagles came up with it.
After that play, Putnam girls’ coach Derrick Arrington breathed a sigh of relief. He was happy his team won.
“It felt great. It’s always big to beat Morgan,” Arrington said after the game. “The girls did a good job of keeping their composure in the last minute-and-a-half of the game. They studied a lot of film [on Morgan], and we practiced a lot of situational stuff. They did a great job doing what we had to do to come out with a win.”
The game remained close throughout the night, with Morgan County holding a 22-18 lead at the half. The Lady War Eagles took a 33-32 lead into the fourth quarter after trading blows with the Lady Dogs the entire third.
Putnam got huge shots down the stretch from players such as Journey Waller, Kadyn Dennis, and Eriyana Little. They made a huge impact on the Lady War Eagles and combined to score most of the points in the win.
Waller had an impressive game, leading with 16 points. She also had four steals, six rebounds, and three assists.
“We have a lot of players who can contribute,” Putnam’s coach said. “That’s what I like about this year’s team.”
Arrington has seen his team hold its opponents to 50 or fewer points in all five games so far this season. He emphasized how important defense is, especially against Morgan County, which has multiple girls who can score on any night.
Putnam’s valiant effort on the defensive side of the ball held Morgan to shoot 33 percent from the field last week.
“The girls are playing really good defense. We want to be able to defend well every night,” Arrington said. “We’ve played some tough teams who have good players. The girls have done a good job playing team defense, which has helped keep us in games. Right now, we’re piecing it together game by game and day by day.”
Two days later, Putnam, now ranked inside Class A Division 1’s top 10, defeated Hancock Central 50-30. The War Eagles entered this week with a 4-1 overall record, with two more games on Friday and Saturday. They return to their home court in Eatonton to face rival Greene County and will host Hancock Central the next day.