The Putnam County girls’ basketball team entered this week on a hot streak, winning five straight games.
To start December, the Lady War Eagles are 6-1 overall and ranked No. 7 in Class A Division I.
Putnam County head coach Derrick Arrington said he isn’t surprised to see his team succeed so early this year.
Arrington emphasized the importance of team defense, which he always preaches.
“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.”
In each of the past five games, Putnam held its opponents to less than 50 points. The most the Lady War Eagles gave up was to Hancock Central and Morgan County, as each scored 45 points.
Arrington’s strategy is to press early, often forcing the opponent to make mistakes. So far, it’s worked out for his team.
Jaikarccie Smith, Journey Waller, Eriyana Little, Kadyn Dennis, Melody Richardson, and A’Ziyah Williams have taken charge. They’ve helped lead the Lady War Eagles with a stout defensive effort.
“We defined roles in the preseason, and every girl is doing what she has to do to get us there,” Arrington said. “Melody is our point guard. She’s doing a great job of leading [us up the court] in games. Eryiana and Jaikarccie are our disruptors. They’ll guard the best player on the other team, beat her down the court, and make her work. They’re very athletic, disciplined, and coachable.
“Then we have A’Ziyah and Kadyn. They’re our communicators on defense. They’re always hustling and getting the girls moving around on defense,” Arrington continued. “Then, of course, we have Journey. She does a little of everything, from scoring to playing stellar defense. They’re all great.”
Arrington also acknowledged Kindall Ward and Jakayla Harrison, who mainly play in the post for the team. He said freshmen Aiyanna Crawford and De’Nadia Dunn contributed down low as well.
Arrington said his team was young and still learning the fundamentals last year.
However, the second-year head coach has seen a significant change of pace this season as his players have become more aware.
“We’ve been putting a bunch of the fundamentals together. We try to work on 20 to 25 fundamental things every day,” Arrington said. “Last year, when they were 9th and 10th graders, they didn’t understand the fundamentals. But now they’re starting to put together the film [and understand] the fundamentals and how it makes us a better program. It’s really coming together for us.”