Lake Oconee Academy’s girls' basketball team is putting it all together at the right time of the year.
The Lady Titans (13-7, 6-2 Class A Division II - Region 8) have rattled off seven consecutive wins. Three of those seven wins came as a sweep of Towns County and against Warren County.
LOA has played an arduous schedule, especially the non-region part. The team has lost more this season than in the last few years, so coach Savannah Soles believes her girls have learned from those losses.
“I think losses build character. We’ve all heard that saying,” Soles said. “You either win or you learn. And we’ve learned a lot from our losses. Most (of our) losses this season have been very close.”
Four of her team’s seven losses this year have come by a combined nine points, which can be gut-wrenching. However, Soles and the Lady Titans have persevered through those difficult times.
“We were very much in those games when the small details mattered. But we missed a couple of opportunities, whether we had too many turnovers, missed opportunities on the glass rebounding, or missed layups,” Soles added. “We had an opportunity to look at the film to see where we hurt ourselves. I think the losses against Warren and Greene on the road were character-building for us.”
Soles and her players corrected those mistakes fast. They made an effort to learn from their past errors.
After a win over Warren County on Jan. 19, Lake Oconee Academy knocked off No. 8 Towns County on Jan. 23. The Lady Titans defeated the visiting Lady Indians 59-44 on their home court.
LOA played nearly perfect, leading for most of the game. At the half, the Lady Titans led Towns County 31-23, although they never let up. They came out with more juice to start the third quarter.
Towns County had two girls in double-figures but couldn’t overcome the eight-point deficit at the half. It was a total team effort from the Lady Titans.
LOA senior Georgia Bosart led the charge with a double-double, scoring 20 points and grabbing 16 rebounds. She almost had a triple-double but fell just short with only nine assists.
Fellow senior Jane Monachello added 13 points, while junior Mary Claire McCommons was also productive. The talented point guard added six points, eight rebounds, four assists, and a pair of steals.
Soles’ squad ended last week with two easy wins over Lincoln County (67-42) and GMC Prep (56-31).
LOA’s winning ways started on Jan. 13 against Aquinas. The Lady Titans’ streak came after close losses to Warren County (55-54) and Greene County (45-42) on back-to-back days a week prior.
Soles again pointed out that the early region losses to Warren County and Greene County don’t define her team. She insists that her team is “clicking” and “peaking” at the right time down the stretch.
“I think we’re clicking at the right time,” Soles said. “We’ve got some younger girls stepping up and others coming off the bench to play valuable minutes. We’ve started to see them play more and more, which is beneficial to us because that shows (the staff) what they’re capable of. It’s cool to watch our girls respond, play well, and buy into the system with what we are trying to do.”
LOA’s rematch against Greene County this upcoming Friday at home could decide which team is in first place in the region standings heading into the final week of the regular season.