Rome, GA – The South Georgia Technical College nationally ranked Lady Jets took an impressive 85 – 70 win over the Georgia Highlands Lady Chargers in a match-up between the first and second place women’s teams in Rome. The win solidified the Lady Jets hold on first place in the Georgia Collegiate Athletic Association (GCAA) standings with a 15 – 0 record and moved them to 23 – 3 overall. Georgia Highlands is now 13 – 2 and 17 – 10.
The Jets came close but were not able to follow up on the Lady Jets success. They fell 83 – 77 to the top-ranked Georgia Highlands Chargers. Georgia Highlands is in first place with an 8 – 2 conference record. The Jets slipped from second into fourth place with a 7 – 4 conference record. They are now 11 – 14 on the season. Central Georgia Tech and Gordon College are tied for second place with identical 8 – 3 conference performances.
Sophomore guard Alyssa Nieves set the pace for the Lady Jets with 31 points against the Georgia Highlands Lady Chargers. She was 7 of 10 from the three-point line and four of six from the foul line. She also had a field goal to finish with 31 points, five rebounds, five assists, and one steal. This was her second 30-point game in two outings. She set a new Lady Jets record with 41 points and crushed the Lady Jets three-point record with 11 three-points goals earlier in the week in a match-up with Andrew College.
Three other Lady Jets joined Nieves in double-digits. Sophomore Bigue Sarr had 16 points, nine rebounds, one assist and one block. She was followed by sophomore forward Fatou Pouye with 14 points, nine rebounds, one assist, two steals and one blocked shot. Sophomore Ricka Jackson closed out the double-digit scoring with 10 points, eight rebounds, two assists, and three steals.
Sophomore Mari Hill and freshman Laky Samo both had four points. Hill had nine assists, five steals and four rebounds. Freshmen Rio Yamazaki and Kamya Hollingshed both added three points to the Lady Jets total.
After the Lady Jets captured their victory, the Jets came out and stayed close with Georgia Highlands men. The Jets were down 39 – 43 at the half but cut the lead to one point with less than six minutes in the game. Foul trouble late caused the Jets to drop the 83 – 77 decision to the top ranked Georgia Highlands squad.
Freshman Justin Johnson led the Jets in scoring with 18 points. Sophomore Adonis Green had 11 points and then Sam Matice, Nick Cummings, and DJ Fisher each tossed in 10 points. Jeremy Johnson had six points and 11 rebounds. Jaylan McKinney scored four points and Dijon Brown, and Toriano Lewis both came up with three points. Johnathan Tchuisse wrapped up the scoring with two points.
The Jets and the Lady Jets will return home for conference double-header on Saturday against Southern Crescent Technical College. The Lady Jets play at 1 p.m. and the men will follow at 3 p.m. The Lady Jets play a make-up game on Monday, February 18th at home and then the Jets match up against South Georgia State College at 7:30 in the Hangar on Wednesday, Feb. 20th while the Lady Jets travel back to Rome for a third match-up against Georgia Highlands at 5:30 p.m. that night.
The two SGTC teams will host the Alumni-Sophomore Celebration on Saturday, February 23rd when they host Albany Technical College at 1 p.m. and 3 p.m. An alumni game is set for 10 a.m. and the Americus-Sumter County Chamber of Commerce will provide a free tail gate lunch beginning at 11:30 a.m. in the Hangar. Free t-shirts will be available while supply lasts.
