The South Georgia Technical College Lady Jets made 13 consecutive free throws in the fourth quarter to come from behind and take a narrow 74 – 69 victory over the Snow College Badgers from Epraim, Utah Thursday.
“I was very proud of their effort,” said South Georgia Technical College Athletic Director and Lady Jets head coach Jason Carpenter, after the Lady Jets overcame an eight-point deficit at the end of the first half to clinch the narrow victory and end a two-game losing streak.
The Lady Jets moved to 6 – 4 on the season and Snow fell to 10 – 4. Two of Snow College’s losses came to the NJCAA 14th nationally ranked Casper College. The Badgers other loss was to Western Wyoming Community College in a one-point decision. The Lady Jets win ended a five-game winning streak for the Snow Badgers.
Snow College came out strong in the first half and was up 21 – 16 at the end of the first quarter. They stretched their lead to as many as nine points before closing out the first half with a 38 – 30 lead.
South Georgia Technical College rebounded in the second half and managed to tie the game at 47 – 47 with 2:28 remaining in the third quarter. The Lady Jets hit five of their six three-point shots in the second half along with 13 of 15 free throws to cut the deficit and move into the lead.
The Lady Jets were up 68 - 61 with 28.9 seconds remaining in the game but Snow refused to give up and managed to pull within four points with 23 seconds remaining. Four successful free throws by the Lady Jets in the final 21 seconds allowed the Lady Jets to clinch the 74 – 69 victory.
Sophomore center Maeva Fotsa from Quebec, Canada, was the top scorer for the Lady Jets with 17 points. She had a double-double night with 13 rebounds. Sophomore guard Vera Gunaydin and freshman guard Mio Sakano both contributed 12 points and then freshman guard Enola Papin closed out the double-digit scoring with 11 points. Vera Gunaydin also contributed five assists and three steals in the match-up.
Closing out the scoring for the Lady Jets was Isabel deSouza Bueno and Maria Diaz with eight points each and Greta Carollo with six points. Maeva Fotsa, Vera Gunaydin, and Isabel de Souza Bueno were all perfect from the foul line.
The Lady Jets are hosting the Lady Jets Holiday Classic, December 29 – 31. Pensacola State will match-up against Shelton State on Friday at 12 noon. St. Petersburg College and Tallahassee play at 2 p.m. and Daytona State and Snow are set for 4 p.m. The Lady Jets will face the NJCAA 4th ranked Gulf Coast State College at 6 p.m. Friday.
On Saturday, the games begin at 12 noon with Pensacola State vs. Daytona State; Snow College vs. Gulf Coast State College at 2 p.m. and Shelton State vs. Tallahassee Community College at 4 p.m. The Lady Jets will play St. Petersburg College at 6 p.m. Saturday.
The tournament will end on Sunday with Gulf Coast State and Shelton State opening at 12 noon, Pensacola State and St. Petersburg College at 2 p.m. and Tallahassee and Daytona State at 4 p.m.