Putnam County girls basketball came up just short of winning the region championship on Feb. 14.
No. 9 Lamar County edged the Lady War Eagles 55-53 in Barnesville to win the Class A Division I Region 4 championship.
Despite the result, Putnam County girls’ head coach Derrick Arrington remained proud of his players. However, he told The Eatonton Messenger that his team just didn’t “execute” the small things.
“We missed 14 free throws and lost by two points,” Arrington said. “Those are just simple executions. We also did a decent job on the glass, but [Lamar County] got too many offensive rebounds from us. We resorted back to trying to out-jump them instead of boxing out and rebounding like we know how to do. The weight of the moment may have also gotten to us in our heads in terms of getting away from our fundamental execution. It cost us.”
Lamar grabbed 45 rebounds, 18 of which were on the offensive end. Putnam’s inability to grab offensive boards led to the Lady Trojans dominating down low and scoring second-chance points.
Putnam defeated Social Circle (47-37) and Southwest Atlanta Christian (58-52) to reach the championship game. The Lady War Eagles' win over Social Circle solidified their playoff berth.
Putnam’s girls also gained a ton of confidence when they upset SAC in the semifinal round of the region tournament. The Lady Warriors ended the season 23-2 and previously defeated the Lady War Eagles 55-43 in January.
Arrington stated the semifinal win represented a true team victory, contrasting sharply with the title game.
“They’re a very well-coached team, and they do an amazing job,” Arrington said of SAC. “Just the execution that it took from our ladies to beat a top-notch team like that was fun to watch.”
Putnam sophomore Journey Waller scored a team-high 11 points against SAC in the region semis. Junior Kadyn Dennis and freshman Aiyanna Crawford each contributed nine points in the Lady War Eagles’ revenge win.
Putnam’s girls now enter the Class A Division I playoffs as the No. 11 seed. This marks the first state playoff appearance in three years for the Lady War Eagles, so they’re happy to return to the postseason, where Arrington knows anything can happen.
“It’s a testament to the girls’ hard work. They come in with a championship pedigree,” he said. “They’ve been successful on every level they’ve played on. So, the pedigree and the makeup are there.”
Arrington said his team could go far if it plays like it did against Southwest Atlanta Christian.
“It comes down to execution. The season comes down to executing the small things correctly,” he stressed. “We’ve got to do it over and over again and see if we can make it a deep run.”
Putnam began its quest for a state title against No. 22 Gordon Lee (15-13) on Wednesday (past press time). The winner will face either No. 6 Lamar County or No. 6 Northeast (Macon) on Feb. 27.