Basketball season for the Lady Rams of Newton is here as head coach Jawan Bailey is entering his third year as the head coach of the Lady Rams. The Lady Rams are looking to take another step up this season after finishing 2023-24 19-12 with a 8-3 record in Region 4-AAAAAAA. 

In his first season as the leader of the Lady Rams, Bailey’s team — made up of many underclassmen — finished the 2022-2023 season 3-22. With a few seasons under his belt at Newton, Bailey knows the main goal is to get better each year. 

“The main goal for us this year is to build off the season we had last year while bringing back key pieces that were also hurt, " Bailey said. “We were runner up in the region and made it to the second round of the playoffs so that is something we as a coaching staff are preaching to our leaders on this team.”

The Lady Rams were a No. 2 two seed in the playoffs last year and finished behind the region champs and eventual state champion, the Grayson Lady Rams.

A new factor this season is a new classification and a new region for Newton. The Lady Rams began this season in Region 4-AAAAAA.

Newton will face familiar foes like the Grayson Lady Rams, South Gwinnett Lady Comets and Archer Lady Tigers. With the new region, the Lady Rams will face new foes such as the Grovetown Lady Warriors, Rockdale County Lady Bulldogs and Heritage Lady Patriots.

Bailey is looking forward to a breakout season from sophomore London Smith, who tore her ACL at the beginning of the season. Additionally, Bailey is expecting big things out of Jamira Flournoy with the help of the senior presence on this team. 

“London didn’t get a chance to perform last year due to an early season torn ACL injury but I expect her to bring great success to the team this year,” Bailey said. “And Jamira is a swiss army knife for us and we are excited to see what she does.”

Heading into the 2024-2025 campaign, the Lady Rams have five total seniors on the team this year and Bailey is expecting them to lead the way. 

“Our seniors have a lot on their shoulders heading into the season to make it a tradition of making it to the playoffs constantly and making deep runs,” Bailey said. “Out of the five seniors we have, three of them were on that 3-22 squad, so they understand what it means to sacrifice for their teammates.”

The Lady Rams will open up their season on the road against their county rival in the Alcovy Lady Tigers. Tipoff is set to take place at 6 p.m. following the junior varsity game.