Rome, GA – For the third time in as many conference games, the South Georgia Technical College Jets and Lady Jets split decisions in a Georgia Collegiate Athletic Association (GCAA) contest. The nationally ranked Lady Jets captured their third consecutive and ninth conference victory with an 80 – 62 win over the Georgia Highlands Lady Chargers while the Jets dropped their third straight conference decision in a 73 – 66 battle on the Chargers home court in Rome, GA.
“It is tough,” said South Georgia Technical College Jets head coach Travis Garrett. “We have lost two games by three points and lost this one by seven points. We have just got to find a way to finish strong and win.”
The Jets and the Chargers were tied at 42-42 at the half. The two teams traded leads back and forth in the second half but the Chargers were finally able to pull ahead for good on a three point shot to make it 60 – 57 midway through the half. They maintained that lead to capture the 73 – 66 victory.
The Lady Jets, which are undefeated in the GCAA, took their second consecutive win over Georgia Highlands Lady Chargers. Georgia Highlands is currently in second place behind the Lady Jets with a 5 – 2 record. Their only conference losses this season are to South Georgia Technical College.
Georgia Highlands Lady Chargers started off strong and were up 12 – 9 at the end of the first quarter. They scored seven unanswered points in the second quarter to pull ahead 19 – 9. The Lady Jets were scoreless until the last 5:35 minutes in the half. South Georgia Tech had a 14 – 3 run to retake the lead 23 – 22 with 1:25 left in the second quarter. The Lady Jets scored five unanswered points in the final minute and a half to go up 29 – 24 at the half.
The Lady Jets outscored Georgia Highlands 29 – 19 in the third quarter and 22 – 19 in the fourth quarter to capture the 80 – 62 victory. “It is always good to get a win against Georgia Highlands, especially in their gym,” said South Georgia Technical College Athletic Director and Lady Jets head coach James Frey. “We knew that this was an important game for our conference play and I am proud of the ladies for coming back and finishing strong. We still have to work on playing 40-full minutes if we want to continue to win against good teams.”
Sophomore transfer guard Niya Goudelock was the top scorer for the Lady Jets with 22 points. Another sophomore guard Shamari Tyson added 15 points and then freshman center Femme Sikuzani scored 11 points while sophomore forward Yasriyyah Wazeerud-Din closed out the double-digit scoring with 10 points. Goudelock had five rebounds, seven assists and two steals to go with her 22 points. Tyson had five rebounds, four assists and three steals, and Sikuzani had seven rebounds, and one blocked shot before fouling out. Yasriyyah Wazeerud-Din led the team in rebounding with eight rebounds, three assists, and three steals.
Rounding out the scoring for the Lady Jets was Flore Ngasamputu with eight, Oumy Gueye with four, Anna McKendree with three, Moe Shida had two points and Hope Butera closed out the scoring with one point.
The Lady Jets are 9 – 0 in the conference and 19 – 2 overall. They are currently ranked 17th in the National Junior College Athletic Association and working toward earning their fifth trip to the national tournament in six years.
Sophomore Justin Johnson was the top scorer for the Jets in their loss with 13 points. Toriano Lewis and Jairus Carroll were tied for the second highest scorer position with 11 points each. Lewis was three of seven from the three-point line. None of the Jets had over four individual rebounds in that contest.
Lamont Sanders scored nine points, Jalen Reynolds had eight, Denari Garrett and Tabais Long both contributed five points, Brice Paster scored three points and Austin Hadden closed out the scoring with one point.
The loss by the Jets in the second half of the double-head dropped them to 1 – 3 in the conference and 8 – 10 overall. They are currently in seventh place in the GCAA. Albany Tech is leading the men’s league with a 4 – 0 record and Georgia Highlands is second at 2 – 0. South Georgia State College is third at 3 – 1, followed by Central Georgia Tech, 2 – 1; Gordon College at 2- 2, and Andrew at 1 – 2. Southern Crescent is eighth at 0 – 2 and East Georgia is ninth at 0 – 4.
The Jets and Lady Jets will host Southern Crescent Technical College in Americus at 1 p.m. and 3 p.m. on Saturday, January 18th. The Jets will host South Georgia State College on Wednesday, January 22nd at 7 p.m. and then the two teams host Albany Technical College on Saturday, January 25th at 1 p.m. and 3 p.m. in the Hangar on the SGTC Americus campus.
Justin Johnson, 5, had 13 points for the Jets in the loss to Georgia Highlands.