The South Georgia Technical College Lady Jets will face off against the North Dakota State College of Science Lady Wildcats in the first round of the National Junior College Athletic Association Division I women’s basketball tournament at the Rip Griffin Center in Lubbock, Texas on Tuesday at 8:45 p.m. eastern standard time. The game will be broadcast live on WISK/WDEC locally and will air live on NJCAA TV (njcaatv.com).
The Lady Jets are the 11th seeded team in the NJCAA Division I tournament. They finished the season ranked 14th but were able to move up three spots in the national selection process after defeating Spartanburg Methodist College 83 – 65 in Spartanburg, SC, in the NJCAA Division I District J Championship game Saturday. The Lady Jets have the best record in the history of the college with a 30 – 2 overall performance.
The North Dakota State College of Science Lady Wildcats are ranked 22nd in the NJCAA National Tournament. They overcame an early deficit over Malcom X College to take a 79 – 36 win in the North Central District championship and earn an automatic bid to the national tournament. They are 27 – 6 overall this season.
“Coach Tom Dryburgh does a good job with the North Dakota State College of Science Lady Wildcats,” said South Georgia Technical College Athletic Director and Lady Jets head coach James Frey. “They come from a conference that is off the beaten path and doesn’t get a lot of respect (Mon-Dak) but at the end of the day, they play a good brand of basketball and are good fundamentally.”
North Dakota State College of Science is making its third trip to the NJCAA in the past four years. They missed out on the opportunity to play in the national tournament last year but the program was seeded 21st in 2018 and 23rd in 2017. They lost in the opening games in 2018 and 2017 to Walters State (80 – 43) and Shelton State (61-48).
On the stat sheets, the Lady Jets look like they have a slight advantage over the Lady Wildcats. South Georgia Tech is 30 – 2 overall and 17 – 0 in the conference. They have won the last 14 games and average 83.3 points per game. They shoot 45% from the field, 37% from the three-point line and 63.7 from the foul line. The Lady Jets have 48.8 rebounds per game and 18.5 assists.
The North Dakota State College of Science Wildcats are 27 – 6 overall, 12 – 3 in the conference, and average 72.4 points per game. They are on a six-game winning streak. They shoot 40.9% from the field, 29.2% from the three-point line and are 66.7% free throw shooters. They average 44.6 rebounds per game and 15.1 assists. The two teams have not played any common opponents.
The South Georgia Technical College Lady Jets are making their fourth consecutive trip to the NJCAA National Tournament and their seventh appearance in the NJCAA national tournament since the program began in 2004 – 2005. The Lady Jets went to the NJCAA National Tournament in Salina, Kansas under former head coach Brandon Harrell in 2009 – 2010. This will be their sixth trip to the NJCAA Division I women’s tournament with current Head Coach James Frey. His first trip was in 2013 – 2014. They earned the right to go back in 2014 – 2015 and posted their first win in the NJCAA national tournament that year and finished in the Sweet Sixteen. The Lady Jets did not make the national tournament in 2015 – 2016, but they have been back for the past three years.
“This is what we have been working for all season,” said Coach Frey. “We earned the right to advance, but now we have to go out and win to keep advanceing.”
The winner of the Lady Jets – Lady Wildcats game on Tuesday will face the sixth ranked Central Arizona team which is 28 – 3 overall on Wednesday at 10:30 p.m. The winner of that game will move into the Elite Eight and play on Thursday at 8 p.m. against the winner of Northwest Florida State and the Odessa – Chattahnooga State team. Northwest Florida State is ranked third and is 27 – 4 overall. The Final Four games will be played at 5 p.m. and 7 p.m. on Friday, March 20th and the championship game is set for Saturday, March 21st at 12 noon.
James Frey took over the reigns as head coach of the Lady Jets in 2012 – 2013 and is in his eighth year as head coach. He has taken the Lady Jets to the national tournament six of the eight years at the helm. They have posted 20 wins seasons each year he has been a head coach.
