Lady Jets defeat Albany Tech to host and advance in the NJCAA Region XVII tournament

The top ranked South Georgia Technical College Lady Jets captured an impressive 76 – 43 victory over the eighth place Albany Technical College Lady Titans Tuesday in the first round of the National Junior College Athletic Association Region XVII Division I women’s basketball tournament. As the Georgia Collegiate Athletic Association (GCAA) regular season champions, the South Georgia Technical College Lady Jets earned the right to host the first round of the NJCAA Region XVII tournament and after the win against Albany Tech, they will now also host the semi-final and final rounds on Friday, March 3rd and Saturday, March 4th. The first game will begin at 5:30 p.m. Friday with the second ranked Georgia Highlands team facing off against the third ranked East Georgia State squad. The first place Lady Jets will play fourth-ranked Chattahoochee Tech at 7:30. The two winners will meet in the finals at 2 p.m., Saturday, March 4th. This is the second consecutive GCAA regular season conference title for the Lady Jets and their third in five years. Coach James Frey was selected as the GCAA Co-Coach for the Year for the 2016 – 2017 season. This is his third time in five years. Freshman guard Kanna Suzuki was selected as the Freshman Player of the Year and sophomores Camille Coleman, Desiree Corbin, and Shaineequah Fluellyn were each named to the GCAA All-Conference teams. “We are happy to get the win and host the final four this weekend,” said South Georgia Technical College Athletic Director and Lady Jets head coach James Frey. “I think our young ladies stayed the course and remained focused through a lot of adversity and it is paying off now. We have told our entire team all year that you have to prepare as though you are starting because in sports, the unexpected often happens. “It just so happens this was our year for the unexpected,” continued Coach Frey, who lost three starters late in the season due to injuries and personal situations. “We have young ladies who were playing very little early on, who are now playing 20 minutes a game and giving us great effort. There is a lot of pride in that locker room and I think it is showing in how they are going about their business.” South Georgia Technical College scored first against Albany Technical College and never relinquished that lead in the first round tournament action. The Lady Jets were up 21 – 8 at the end of first quarter and were still up by 13 points at the half with the score 38 – 25. The Lady Jets simply dominated in the second half outscoring Albany Tech 16 – 9 in the third quarter and 22 – 9 in the final period to capture the 76 – 43 victory. Freshman guard Trakyra Kidd from Wesley Chapel, FL, led the Lady Jets in scoring with 23 points. She was 10 of 11 from the field, and three of five from the foul line. The 5’ 7” guard also led the teams in rebounds with 12. She also had five assists. Sophomore guard Shaineequah Fluellyn from Molena, GA, accounted for 14 points and four rebounds and then freshman guard Kanna Suzuki closed out the double-digit scoring with 12 points. She also had five rebounds and five assists. Marina Balaguer, a freshman guard from Mataro, Spain, came off the bench and added nine points. Madison Cameron, a sophomore forward from Canada, added eight points and then Houlfat Mahouchiza, a freshman forward from Nigeria, accounted for six points. Sceret Ethridge added three points and Esther Adenike closed out the scoring with one point. “We now have to prepare for Chattahoochee Tech, who has had a wonderful season,” said Coach Frey. They have two all-conference performers and honestly probably should have had a third. They have three of the leading scorers in our conference and the leading rebounder. They can shoot the three point shot as good as any team I have seen in my five years here. The key for us is going to be defending the three point line and taking care of the basketball. If we do those things, I think we have a chance.” Chattahoochee Tech is 21 – 10 overall and 5 – 9 in the conference. They defeated Central Georgia Tech 77 – 75 in the first round playoff on Tuesday. In the other bracket, the second seeded Georgia Highlands Team defeated Andrew College, 57 – 53. Georgia Highlands is now 18 – 13 overall and 12 – 2 in the conference. They will face East Georgia State who defeated Atlanta Metro, 87 – 64 in first round action. East Georgia State is 20 – 7 and 10 – 4 in the conference.