Lady Cougars Now 17-3 Overall

Piedmont Academy’s varsity girls basketball team has compiled one of the best seasons in the program’s history but there are still plenty of goals to achieve.

The Lady Cougars did not play their scheduled two games against St. George last weekend as the opponent had to cancel due to COVID-19 concerns. Piedmont returned to action Tuesday in a non-region home game against Augusta Prep earning a 52-38 victory.

The Lady Cougars (17-3 overall, 5-0 in region) will look to complete an undefeated regular season region mark on Friday against Windsor Academy in Macon at 6 p.m.

“I am pleased with how the season has gone,” said coach Michael Wilson. “We wanted to get the top seed for the region tournament and we did that. We wanted to get some signature wins and we have three (Glenwood, Lee Scott and John Milledge. We have reached our team goals to this point and I told the girls if we did that then individual recognition would come and it has. Our three seniors were named to the All-Star team and considering how their varsity careers started in eighth grade that’s pretty cool for them and the team.”

The program has taken a major step forward in recent seasons.

“We are in the midst of our fourth straight winning year and the only thing missing is getting to the Final Four,” Wilson said. “To do that, we have to keep the focus in practice and work hard and continue to get better. It’s no secret our region isn’t as strong this year as in years past so we made it a point of emphasis to not focus on that but to focus on playing team basketball regardless of the opponent.”

Staying focused and continuing to improve has been a major focus for the Lady Cougars.

“We didn’t want bad habits to creep up because of the competition we were facing,” Wilson said. “That’s a tough task for a team not used to winning and being considered a good team but the girls responded to our challenge. To me, their commitment to being their best has made a world of difference- it started this summer and has continued.”

Another focal point has been nothing taking anything as being guaranteed.

“We knew going into the season nothing was guaranteed so we’ve gone out and played every game like it was our last one,” the coach said. “I think that has made us appreciate each other and has made us better as a result. Beyond the Final Four, we haven’t talked about it. Obviously, if we are fortunate to be there, we will set our sights on another goal but until then we are focused on winning the region tournament and preparing to get over the hump of the quarterfinals which has tripped us up the last couple of years. I am so proud of this group. I love coaching then, they have fun playing together and I hope we get the chance to play as many games as possible the rest of the season.”