The Putnam County girls’ 2024-25 basketball season ended last Friday in the second round of the state playoffs.
For the third time this season, Lamar County defeated the Lady War Eagles, ending their hopes of winning a state championship. The Lady Trojans advanced to the next round after a 60-55 win.
Putnam head coach Derek Arrington was disappointed with the result but remained proud of how his girls fought.
“It’s been a really close game against Lamar County every time,” Arrington said. “When we play them, it’s kind of a style clash. We’re an up-and-down and athletic team. They're a throw-it-into-the-post-player type team.”
Arrington called the second-round matchup between the teams a “slugfest” from the opening tip-off.
Putnam came out swinging and led 19-15 at the end of the first quarter. The Lady War Eagles got baskets from Journey Waller, Melody Richardson, JaZiyah Foster, and others in the opening eight minutes of the game.
Putnam controlled the tempo and ramped up its defensive pressure, causing Lamar to make mistakes. The Lady Trojans also struggled to shoot the ball from the field in the second quarter and trailed 26-19 at the half.
Lamar made adjustments that turned the third quarter into a back-and-forth battle, with each team responding after the other scored a made bucket. Lamar took a 37-36 advantage into the fourth quarter, as each offense started to heat up from the field.
A 3-point play from Putnam’s Jaikarccie Smith tied the game at 45 a few minutes into the final period. The Lady Trojans retook a 47-45 lead as Makayla Watts nailed a jump shot before the Lady War Eagles got back in front.
Smith completed another 3-point play, giving Putnam a 48-47 advantage. Lamar then responded with a quick 5-0 run, taking a 52-48 lead before Waller pulled the Lady War Eagles to within a point on a basket and made a free throw. They tied it up again as Smith sunk a shot from the charity stripe the next trip down the floor.
However, Watts buried a 3-pointer a few seconds later, and the Lady Trojans never looked back. They outscored Putnam 8-3 in the final few minutes to secure the five-point victory and move on to the next round.
“We went on our runs early,” Arrington said. “They went on a run right after halftime, and it was just a slugfest.”
With the victory, Lamar completed its season sweep of the Lady War Eagles, after winning 61-55 and 55-53 in two previous meetings. Putnam just wasn’t able to execute from the free-throw line in each loss to the Lady Trojans.
Arrington acknowledged that missing free throws had been the team’s Achilles heel all season.
“We missed 10 free throws again,” he said. “We'll work on those things. We had some mental lapses, but that’s part of playing the game. It’s just a style clash when we play them, and they came out on top at their place.”
Putnam reached the Sweet 16 with a 46-37 win over Gordon-Lee in a defensive battle. The Lady War Eagles ended their 2024-25 season with a 16-10 overall record and ranked inside the top 10 of Class A Division I.