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(Graphic/Samuel Higgs)
The Oglethorpe County girls basketball team passed its first Region 5-A Division I test on Tuesday night.
The Lady Patriots, who are ranked fifth in Class A Division I, defeated Prince Avenue 74-43 to improve to 16-2, the first of six region games to conclude the regular season.
The Patriots went 6-0 in the region last season. However, with a limited pool of opponents, each game adds importance this late in the season.
“While we only have four teams, we still have a region tournament,” coach Brianna Dickens said. “So really that last game is what ultimately matters. It doesn’t matter if we beat somebody two times if we don’t win that last one.”
Next up: The Lady Patriots host Jasper County at 6 p.m. Friday, Jan. 26 and are at Social Circle on Jan. 30 in region play.
Although they’ve only experienced two losses, those games helped shift the mindset of the players, Dickens said. Early this season, the Lady Patriots lost by 27 points to Hart County, after also falling to them in a preseason exhibition game.
“Now, losing by 25, that's an embarrassment,” Dickens said. “That's not something that they're used to.”
The Patriots redeemed themselves just three games later with a 60-54 win on Dec. 18.
Dickens said the girls embraced the challenge of overcoming adversity, which in turn fueled a nine-game win streak.
A key goal for the Patriots is to achieve success through both halves of games.
“Sometimes coming out of halftime, we come out and we’re back slow,” senior point guard Aariana Bell said. “I feel like we just need to come out and jump back on the team, like we usually do in the first quarter.”
The final six games for the Patriots will be the last in their current region before moving to Region 8-A Division I.
However, the team will be “trying to do the same thing we did last year,” Bell said, and sit atop this region one last time.