Albany, GA – The South Georgia Technical College Lady Jets secured their sixth consecutive win Wednesday with a 76 – 63 victory over the Albany Technical College Lady Titans in a Georgia Collegiate Athletic Association (GCAA) conference double-header in Albany. The Jets lost a heartbreaking 74 – 69 overtime decision to the Albany Tech Titans.
“We are improving,” said South Georgia Technical College Athletic Director and Lady Jets head coach Jason Carpenter after the Lady Jets secured their sixth consecutive GCAA victory on Valentines Day. “We still have things we need to work on, but we are improving every game.”
The Lady Jets are currently tied for second place in the GCAA with Central Georgia Tech. Both teams have a 9 – 4 GCAA record. East Georgia State College is currently in first with a 12 – 0 record. Albany Tech dropped to 4th to 5 – 6 after the loss to SGTC.
Camarion Johnson, 5, led the Jets in scoring with 22 points against Albany Tech.
The Lady Jets have won their five previous conference games by margins of 45, 37, 27, 50, and 18 points. They were up by 16 points in the fourth quarter against Albany Tech, but the Lady Titans rallied to pull with-in 13 points by the final buzzer.
Albany Tech came on strong in the first quarter and pulled ahead by four points early. The two-teams swapped baskets and had six different ead changes within that first 10-minute quarter. The Lady Jets finally pulled ahead 25 – 15 at the end of that period and then hung on in the second quarter to take a 40 – 29 lead by the half.
The Lady Jets outscored Albany Tech 17 – 14 in the third quarter but allowed Albany Tech to outscore them 20 – 19 in the fourth quarter before clinching the 76 – 63 victory.
Sophomore guard Vera Gunaydin led the Lady Jets in scoring with 20 points and she was followed by freshman Mio Sakano who contributed 18 points. Sophomore center Maeva Fotsa closed out the double-digit scoring with 10 points and she led the team in rebounds with eight.
Greta Carollo scored eight points, Isabel Souza Bueno and Enola Papin both added seven points and Destiny Bishop closed out the scoring with six points.
It looked as though the Jets were going to make it a clean sweep after they jumped out to a 12-point lead in the first half. The two battled back and forth with six lead changes and four ties before Albany Tech pulled ahead 30 – 28 at the half-time buzzer.
South Georgia Tech came back in the second half and were up by two before Albany Tech scored to tie the game at 61 – 61 in regulation. That momentum by the Titans continued in the five-minute overtime and they dominated the Jets to take the 74 – 69 victory.
Missed free throws and turnovers continued to plague the Jets. The Jets were 9 of 16 from the foul line and Albany Tech was 27 of 38. SGTC’s 29 turnovers also exceeded Albany Tech’s 20 on the night.
The loss put the Jets in a tie for 4th place in the conference with Central Georgia Tech at 6 – 4. Albany Tech and South Georgia State College are currently tied for first place with 8 – 2 performances this season. Georgia Highlands is in third at 7 – 2.
The Jets four conference losses have all been by six points or less. They dropped a 69 – 65 decision to Georgia Highlands at home and then lost 71 – 70 in Rome. They also lost to South Georgia State in Waycross 72 – 66, before the 74 – 69 loss to Albany Tech in Albany.
Freshman guard Camarion Johnson gave it his all with a total of 22 points. He was nine of 18 from the field and three of six from the three-point line. He also was perfect at the foul line at 1 – 1. He had two assists, one steal and six rebounds. He was the only Jet in double-figures.
Israel Momodu came away with eight points for the Jets, Deonte Williams and Jaylen Woods both added seven points and Kameron Foman and Mohand Ammad had six apiece. Daryl Bod scored five points, Vaughn Prosser and Justin Evans tossed in three each and Kent Harley closed out the scoring with two points.
The Lady Jets will return home for a rematch with Albany Tech’s Lady Titans on Monday, February 19 at 5:30 p.m. as they look for the seventh straight win. They will travel to Georgia Highlands College on Wednesday, February 21 for a 5:30 p.m. game and then the Jets and Lady Jets will host Southern Crescent Technical College on Saturday in a conference double header at 1 p.m. and 3 p.m.
The Jets will host South Georgia State College on February 28 at 7 p.m. and then they two teams host Albany Technical College on Saturday, March 2nd in a doubleheader at 1 p.m. and 3 p.m. The following Saturday, March 9 will be Sophomore Day when the Jets and Lady Jets face East Georgia State College. All former players and alumni are invited back for that Sophomore/Alumni Event. The Americus Sumter County Chamber of Commerce will be hosting a tail gate beginning at 12:30 with free hot dogs and hamburgers.