The South Georgia Technical College Lady Jets remained in the first-place position in the National Junior College Athletic Association’s (NJCAA) Division I women’s basketball poll for the sixth consecutive week and received all 10 first place votes based on their 28 – 1 record.
The Lady Jets recorded back to back victories last week to extend their win streak to 28 straight games. This allowed the Lady Jets to remain in first place ahead of Eastern Florida State which is 26 – 1 this season. Blinn (25-1) is currently in third place in the nation followed by Southern Idaho (26-2) and Trinity Valley (24-2). There was no change in the top five positions from last week.
Gulf Coast (23-2), Northwest Florida State (21-3), and Collin (24-1), are ranked sixth, seventh, and eighth. Jones (20-3) moved up to ninth place and Dodge City (25 – 2) moved up to 10th place. McLennan (22- 3) fell from 9th to 11th and they were followed by Wabash Valley, Shelton State, Eastern Arizona, and Moberly Area. For the first time this season, East Georgia State (19 – 4) joined the Lady Jets in the top 25 rankings. They are currently ranked 23rd.
South Georgia Tech’s only loss this season was against Gulf Coast, 76 – 61 in Florida in the opening game of the season. Gulf Coast had been the top-ranked team prior to two losses this season and now they are in 6th place.
In addition to the 1st place ranking in the national poll, the SGTC Lady Jets also had five players recognized for their individual efforts on the court. The five Lady Jets featured in the national rankings include: sophomore center Fanta Gassama, sophomore Loes Rozing, sophomore Alexia Dizeko, sophomore Luana Leite and freshman Veronika Palfi.
Gassama, 6’ 1” center from Mataro, Spain, is currently listed as 3rd in the country in defensive rebounds with 9.2 per game and 4th in rebounds per game with a 13.3 average over 24 games. She is also listed in 7th place in total rebounds with 319. She dropped to 21sr overall in offensive rebounds averaging 4.1.
Lady Jets sophomore guard Alexia Dizeko, 5’ 11” from Sion, Switzerland, is 27th in the nation in total points scored with 445. She was also listed as 39th in field goal percentage shooting making 55.1 percent of her attempts from the floor. She is currently averaging 16.5 points per game which put her at 46th in the nation.
Sophomore guard Luana Leite, 5’ 7” from Sao Paolo, Brazil, was ranked in three-point percentage shooting. Leite is making 46.6% of her attempts and is 5th in the nation. She is also ranked 44th in the nation in steals averaging 2.7 per outing. Freshman Veronika Palfi was ranked 14th in three-point percentage shooting hitting 42.1 percent of her attempts.
Sophomore point guard Loes Rozing, 5’ 10” from Heiloo, Netherlands is the other Lady Jet ranked and she is currently 25th in assists per game averaging 4.9.
The Lady Jets last regular season game will be Saturday, February 25th on Alumni/Sophomore Day with a 1 p.m. game against 23rd ranked East Georgia State followed by the 3 p.m. game with the Jets and Georgia Highlands.
SGTC will be hosting a tailgate with free hotdogs and hamburgers while supplies last on Alumni/Sophomore Day courtesy of the Sumter County Chamber of Commerce. Free t-shirts will also be available while supplies last on that day.