The Lake Oconee Academy Lady Titans have won the past four region championships and seek a fifth straight.
They’ve dominated Class A Division II’s Region 8 the past four seasons and entered this week’s tournament as the No. 2 seed behind Washington-Wilkes. Their chances of winning another league title are high.
LOA head coach Savannah Soles believes her team is hitting its stride heading into the region tournament.
“Besides us, they’re a group that I don’t think a lot of people believed in, but they’ve performed well on the court, and it’s shown as the season has gone on,” Soles said to the Lake Oconee News. “How well they play together and as a team, they’ve really bought into the systems we run and how we prep for each team. It shows in how they’re playing right now, so I think we’re hitting our stride at the right time.”
Soles acknowledged that multiple girls have been contributing in various ways.
Lake Oconee Academy has relied on Beth Harris, Ansleigh Padgett, Brianna Glave, Mary Claire Mccommons, Elizabeth Moore, and others. Their collective effort helped the Lady Titans go 9-4 in the new year.
Soles has also seen her team grow in several areas where it struggled earlier in the season.
“We have a lot of players contributing both on the offensive and defensive end,” Soles said. “We’re starting to shoot a lot better, and I ultimately think we’re playing good defense, rebounding better, and limiting our turnovers.”
Soles hopes those things transition to the region tournament and postseason, as the Lady Titans will also try to win a second state championship. They’ve reached the title game at the Macon Centreplex in two of the last four years.
LOA went 7-3 overall in region play. The Lady Titans’ only league losses were to Washington-Wilkes and Lincoln County. The Lady Tigers swept them in the regular season, and they split games with the Lady Red Devils.
According to Soles, the girls are hungry and want revenge, but they must take things one step at a time.
Lake Oconee Academy’s girls received a bye in the first round of the region tournament. On Thursday, the Lady Titans will face Lincoln County. T
he winner of that game will play either Washington-Wilkes or Greene County in the region championship on Friday. The losers of Thursday’s games will play in a consolation game on Friday to determine their seeding for the playoffs before the region championship game.
“We would love to have the No. 1 seed going into the tournament, but at the end of the day, you’ve got to go and win the tournament,” Soles said. “I’m proud of us for getting the bye, but now it’s time to go and perform.”