5A Blog: Guard-oriented approach working for Warner Robins

The Warner Robins girls have reached the same high level of success they attained last year, even though their approach has gone through a dramatic transformation.

A year ago the Demons went 20-5 by using a strong inside game that carried them to the second round of the playoffs. This season, rather than rely on its bigs, Warner Robins is 19-5 thanks to a guard-oriented attack that has yielded the Region 1 regular-season title.

‘Our guard play as been good,” coach Rebecca White said. “When we’re hot, we’re hot. And our team plays together. The girls don’t really care who scores the points as long as we’re winning. It can be hard to defend us if you don’t know who’s going to be hot. Our girls have bought into that.”

That sort of united front has helped Warner Robins take a 7-0 Region 1 record into Tuesday’s regular-season finale against Coffee. The Demons have not lost a game since Dec. 28 against Stockbridge in the Lamar County Christmas Tournament, a loss that seemed to galvanize the team. Warner Robins has since won 11 in a row.

“We came in the next morning and had a team meeting and I got heart-to-heart with my girls about reality,” White said. “And not just reality on the court, but reality off the court and how you’ll learn lessons that will help you strive for things off the court. Because one of these days the ball is going to stop bouncing. Their whole attitude kind of changed from that point.”

Returning from last season are sophomore Nevaeh Mack, a good shooter and ball-handler.

Tasia Agee, a junior, is a pure shooter who White said, “If you give her an inch she’s going to knock it down.”

Kynnadi Howard is a junior who patrols the inside. Howard didn’t play much last year in the Demons’ senior-heavy inside circle, but White said, “She’s handling her business and getting a lot of blocks and garbage points for us.”

The other two returning starters are Tori Davis, a sophomore who transferred from Eagle’s Landing Christian, and Jada Morgan, a junior who transferred from Jones County. Davis is the point guard and White said, “She’s probably my best distributor on the floor. She sees the floor really well.” Morgan can drive, as well as shoot the jumper; she is also the team’s No. 2 rebounder.

White said the camaraderie with her team is extremely high. They like to do special things together as a unit; recently 24 members of the program attended a pageant in which one of the players was participating.