The Putnam County Lady War Eagles are playing some of their best basketball as region play began last week.
They entered this week with an 11-4 overall record and were ranked No. 7 in Class A Division I by Kyle Sandy.
Putnam girls' head coach Derrick Arrington said his team’s success has been due to its “connection” on the court.
“A bunch of these girls have been connected since they were five, six, or seven playing together, whether it be the rec to travel league, AAU, or middle school,” Arrington said. “At the high school level, we’ve grown in our situations. The moment is not too big for us anymore. We’re ready to compete with the best teams in the state.”
Last season, in Arrington’s first year as head coach, Putnam County’s girls went 17-9 overall but missed the state playoffs. Arrington said the players were young and still adjusting to the speed of the high school level.
The Lady War Eagles worked hard in the offseason, learned to play more together, and are now a better team. Their head coach has noticed a vast improvement in fundamentals and situational awareness this year.
“We move together on defense. We can rebound the ball better, but we’re still working on those little things to stay connected,” Arrington said. “We use the word ‘connected’ instead of ‘play as a team’ because when young people hear ‘play as a team,’ they think that just means pass the ball. We want to use the word ‘connected.’ It means we help each other on defense. We high-five each other on the sideline. We’re engaged in the game. We pick each other up when we’re down, so that’s where we want to get more in-depth with the word.”
Putnam County’s girls are 2-1 since the Christmas break. The Lady War Eagles lost to Class 4A’s No. 8 Jones County, 52-42, on Jan. 4 before opening region play with victories over Towers and McNair last week.
The team’s two losses to the ranked Lady Greyhounds have both been by 10 points. Arrington thought the series against Jones County made his team better and felt the girls played better in the second game to start the year.
“The Jones County game was tough after the break. They’re a really good team, well-coached, and are very athletic,” Arrington said. “They’re one of the best teams in the state of Georgia in their classification. We missed a bunch of free throws, and they made a bunch and beat us. So, it was a really tough game coming back.”
This week, the Putnam girls play two games against a pair of top-10 teams from the Class 3A/A Private. The Lady War Eagles took on No. 7 Southwest Atlanta Christian on Tuesday (past press time) on the road and will face No. 6 Greenforest, the defending Class A Division II state champion, on Friday at home.
Southwest Atlanta Christian and Greenforest are in Putnam County’s region. However, the games won’t count toward the Lady War Eagles’ region record because both opponents will play in the Class 3A/A Private playoffs.
Still, Arrington considers these two matchups a great measuring stick for his team. He hopes his players can stay composed and keep playing connected, as these games will prepare them for the postseason next month.
“It’s one giant at a time. Both teams are playing well this season and are historic programs,” Arrington said. “We’ve got to try and slay two giants. It's going to be a good week of basketball for us.”