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Raygen Godfrey is back and better than ever. The Troup High senior basketball player has been on a tear to start her final season in blue and gold. Godfrey, a captain, has helped Troup get off to a 9-2 start and is looking to keep up her and the team’s hot start to the 2024-25 campaign.

Godfrey’s tear was almost not to be. She did not come out for the basketball team her junior season and it took some convincing by Troup High head girls basketball coach Carla Thornton to rejoin the team partway through the season.

“I thought I wasn’t good enough at first, but then I sat down and had to talk with coach. I’m just trying to work on being consistent all the time. If I’m not scoring points, I’ll try and get back on defense or try and get blocks,” Godfrey said. “So I don’t think it’s all about points anymore, and that’s what I thought last year. I really just thought I wasn’t good enough and then I came back and I started scoring, started getting blocks, and when I wasn’t scoring, I started getting rebounds. It just made me more confident.”

Long honest talks with Thornton have become commonplace for Godfrey. Thornton is a family friend and helped Godfrey get into the sport when she was a tike. Thornton was Godfrey’s first coach and the two have shared a strong bond ever since.

“She can be scary, but she’s a good coach. She’s like a mother. She’s always there if you need her,” Godfrey said. “

Godfrey’s game on the court has grown in more ways than one in the past year. Her attitude and mentality improving has been a large part in that overall growth.

“At a time when I was younger, my attitude was bad, my posture was bad. I just had to work on that being like a better person and a better leader,” Godfrey said. 

It is not just her attitude that has improved though as she makes an all-around impact on the court. Godfrey has continued to grow her game over the last year and it certainly helps that she hit a growth spurt in that time period as well, jumping up from 5 ‘6-5’ 10.

With that extra height has come an extra aggressive mentality to attack the rim which Godfrey has been working on relentlessly in recent months.

“I had to get more physical to get inside the paint because I was so tall. And coach always talks about how long my arms are, so that helped me start scoring more and helps me get blocks and rebounds,” Godfrey said. 

The versatility of Godfrey is key for the Tigers. With her ability to attack the run and elevate above defenders as well as her outside game that she cultured in her youth when she was shorter, Godfrey has multiple tools in her arsenal to attack defenders with. 

The Tigers will often run a two-woman game with her alongside lightning-quick guard Sheniyah Philpot. The two have been at the heart of the Troup girls basketball program this season.

“We have been a dynamic duo since red league, we used to play on the same team at West Point Parks and Rec since we were like four or five, so we have always had a strong connection,” Godfrey said. “It’s just so easy to play with her.”

A natural leader, Godfrey has stepped easily into the shoes of a captain this year. The senior is helping mentor Ty Buckner, a freshman center on this year’s team.

“I have helped her learn some stuff and we can play a high-low game together pretty well now,” she said.

Offense is not the only place Godfrey has seen an expansion in her game. Under the tutelage of Thornton, Godfrey has become a defensive force in the paint for Troup.

Whether this is the final in on the basketball court or prep for the next level, Godfrey is unsure at the moment. Regardless of whether this is the final run of her basketball journey or just the beginning, she will be a Lady Tiger for life.