South Georgia Technical College Lady Jets sophomore guard Anna McKendree has announced that she plans to continue her athletic and academic career at Nicholls State University in Thibodaux, Louisana, an NCAA Division 1 Southland Conference team, for the 2020 – 2021 year.
“I am so proud of Anna and the other sophomores from the 2019 – 2020 Lady Jets women’s basketball season,” said South Georgia Technical College Athletic Director and Lady Jets head coach James Frey. “Anna chose to come play junior college basketball at South Georgia Technical College to improve her level of play and she trusted it would all work out. Today, that trust was rewarded.
“I wish I could coach 10 Anna’s every year,” added Coach Frey. “She is an awesome player and person. I am going to miss her more than she knows. And I appreciate her for trusting us for her freshman and sophomore seasons.”
McKendree is a 5’ 6” sophomore guard from Flowery Branch, Georgia that helped lead the Lady Jets to back to back Georgia Collegiate Athletic Association (GCAA) regular season titles as well as back to back National Junior College Athletic Association (NJCAA) Region XVII Tournament wins and NJCAA District J championships. This marked the 5th consecutive GCAA title for the Lady Jets, and the fourth straight NJCAA Region XVII and District J victories. The 2019 – 2020 team also earned the right to advance to the NJCAA National Tournament in Lubbock, Texas this year prior to the tournament’s cancellation due to the COVID-19 pandemic.
“First of all I would like to thank the man above for giving me the opportunity to play the game I love,” said Anna McKendree. “I would also like to thank my family, friends, teammates, and coaches because without them, I wouldn’t be where I am today. Thank you to the Jets program for helping me improve my craft and love for the game. The past two seasons at South Georgia Technical College have been special in every way.”
McKendree added with that being said, she is very blessed to announce that she will be continuing her academic and athletic career at Nicholls State University. Nicholls state was established in 1948 and has about 6,366 students.
The Nicholls State University women’s basketball qualified for the Southland Conference Tournament this year as one of the league’s hottest teams after reeling off seven consecutive wins to close out their regular season as the No. 6 seed in the eight-team tournament. They were 13 – 16 overall and 10 – 10 in the Southland Conference prior to the tournament’s cancellation due to COVID-19. This was the 12th time that the Nicholls women’s basketball team has advanced to the tournament. The Colonels won the tournament in 2018. DoBee Plaisance is head coach of Nicholls State’s women’s basketball team. Three senior starters will graduate this season. Those three players accounted for 35 of the team’s average 64.8 points per game.
Anna McKendree helped lead the Lady Jets to the college’s best overall record for men’s and women’s teams with a 30 – 2 overall record and back to back undefeated GCAA records. The Lady Jets were 18 – 0 during her freshman season and 17 – 0 during her sophomore year. The Lady Jets finished the year ranked 11th in the nation.
McKendree was a member of the GCAA All-Academic team as a sophomore. She averaged 13.3 points per game for the Lady Jets this season. She hit 67% of her free throws and 42% of her three-point attempts. She also had 4.4 rebounds per game, 3.2 assists, and 3.4 steals per game.
McKendree is the third of six sophomores from the Lady Jets 2019 – 2020 team to sign with a Division 1 team. Shamari Tyson and Yasriyyah Wazeerud-Din both announced earlier this month that they were committing to Stetson University in Deland, FL.
