Lady Jets advance to sweet sixteen round of NJCAA National Tournament

Lubbock, TX - The South Georgia Technical College Lady Jets defeated the Motlow State Community College Lady Bucs 64-56 in the first round of the National Junior College Athletic Association Division I women’s national basketball tournament in Lubbock, TX Monday to advance to the sweet sixteen round. The Lady Jets will face number two seeded Odessa College from Odessa, Texas at 7 p.m. eastern standard time on Tuesday, March 21st. “We won and that was big,” said South Georgia Technical College Athletic Director and Lady Jets head coach James Frey. “I am very proud of this team. They have managed to accomplish so much and even though I didn’t think that we played well tonight, we did what we had to do to win and advance.” The Lady Jets are now 30 – 4 on the season. This is the Lady Jets third trip to the national tournament in the past four years and the second time that the Lady Jets have managed to win in the opening round and advance to the sweet sixteen bracket. Three freshman led the Lady Jets to their first round victory in the NJCAA tournament. Freshman guard Kanna Suzuki led the team in scoring with 15 points. She was three of six from the three-point line and three of four from the field. She also had three assists. Freshmen forwards Houlfat Mahouchize and Esther Adenike both tossed in 13 points each to close out the double digit scoring for the Lady Jets. Mahouchize was one of two from the three-point line and five of seven from underneath the basket. Esther Adenike was six of 11 from the field and one of two from the foul line. Mahouchiza also had seven rebounds and Adenike added five. Sophomore guard Shaineequah Fluellyn added six points and had four rebounds and five assists. Sophomore forward Desiree Corbin and freshman guard Trakyra Kidd both accounted for five points. Corbin led the team in rebounds with 13 and Kidd pulled down five and had four assists. Freshman forward Sceret Ethridge had four points and Marina Balaguer closed out the scoring with three points. The Lady Jets will now face Odessa College from Odessa, Texas. The Lady Wranglers are 28 – 1. Their only loss of the season was to Midland College on February 28th, 2017. The 19th ranked Chaparrals defeated Odessa College 75-66. Odessa was ranked as the top team in the nation for much of the season. They drew a first round bye in the tournament. Gulf Coast is the number one seeded team. The Lady Jets have won 18 of their last 19 games. Their last loss was to East Georgia State College on February 15th. They had won 11 straight before that loss and now have put together seven consecutive wins. Houlfat Mahouchiza, 5, had 13 points and seven rebounds for the Lady Jets in their first round win. Esther Adenike, 24, also had 13 points in the Lady Jets win over Motlow State Community College.