The Putnam County girls basketball team had a successful 2024-25 season, finishing 16-10 overall and advancing to the second round of the state playoffs.
This year, the War Eagles want to accomplish more. To do so, head coach Derrick Arrington and his players are taking a different approach, focusing on what they need to improve on.
“We took the things we did strong last year and continued doing them, and any weak spots, we tried to step in there and fix them,” Arrington said. “One of our biggest concerns coming off last year was conditioning, so we really wanted to focus on it this season. We started that in the summer, and the girls have done a good job of working hard and running hard in practice, and we’re really excited about how that’s going to elevate our level of play.”
Putnam County’s brand of basketball is playing fast and loose, so it needs to be well-conditioned.
The War Eagles are a guard-oriented team, with Journey Waller, Eriyana Little, Kadyn Dennis, and Melody Richardson controlling the tempo. The quartet was among the team’s top-five scorers from last season, so having them return is huge.
The veteran guards shared the ball with their teammates, creating scoring opportunities. They also played well in transition, requiring them to run up and down the floor constantly. Plus, Arrington likes his team to press defensively, and these four helped to create turnovers.
Forwards Jaikarccie Smith, De’Nadia Dunn, and A’ziyah Williams were also crucial to the team’s success last season and will be called upon to repeat their efforts this year. They’re accustomed to the War Eagles’ fast pace of play and are helped in the paint by grabbing rebounds and blocking shots.
Arrington thinks upping the conditioning level has helped the team as a whole. Its ability to run up and down the floor with ease was largely responsible for a 2-0 start after defeating Morgan County and Hancock Central.
“We’re hard to guard,” Arrington said. “We try to be hard to guard where you can’t just key in on one of us, and give us a rough night, so we've got a lot of athleticism, and we've got a lot of players that can play multiple positions. They do a great job of handling that adversity.
“But as I said, it started in practice. That started with us raising the intensity, the adversity, and the attention to detail.”
Another aspect the War Eagles focused on improving over the summer was taking the season one day at a time.
Last year, Arrington sometimes felt his players were looking ahead rather than staying focused on the moment. He mentioned that one of the team’s goals this season is to be more present.
“The team came together, and we set our goals based on what the ladies believed,” Arrington stated. “Once we set those goals, now, believe it or not, the goal is just to have the best day, to have the best practice, to have the best period, and to just keep chipping away at what we can be. So, just have the best Friday, and tomorrow have the best Saturday.”
Arrington said that if the team keeps focusing on what it needs to improve, it can succeed. He added that he’s already seen several leaders step up, but also that every player matters.
“We’ve got girls who play multiple roles, and we’ve got different girls in different roles,” Arrington said.
“We’ve got girls who lead us in action. We’ve got girls who lead us communication-wise. We’ve even got a different girl on the team who shares information on social media. So, we’re counting on all of them. Everyone has a piece, and everybody’s piece is a big deal.”