MELBOURNE, FL – The South Georgia Technical College Lady Jets traveled to Melbourne, FL over the weekend and dropped losses to Eastern Florida State College and Daytona State College to fall to 2 – 4 on the season.
The Lady Jets suffered an 80 – 64 loss to Eastern Florida State College on Friday and then dropped a 98 – 89 decision to Daytona State College on Saturday. SGTC will have the opportunity to bounce back this weekend when they host the Pete Arrington Classic in the SGTC James S. Peters gymnasium on Friday, November 28 – Sunday, November 30th.
Two nationally ranked teams will be featured in the six-team tournament. Seventh ranked Walters State Community College will face Central Georgia Tech at 6 p.m. Friday night and Albany Tech at 3 p.m. on Saturday. Nineteenth ranked Florida Southwestern College will play South Georgia Tech at 8 p.m. on Friday night and then face Central Georgia Tech on Saturday at 5 p.m. The other team participating in Motlow State.
South Georgia Technical College Athletic Director and Lady Jets head coach Jason Carpenter said that he is disappointed in the losses this past weekend but “plans to use it as an opportunity to grow and prepare for another weekend of high-end competition in the upcoming Pete Arrington Classic.
“We are a young team with a lot of promise, but we also have a lot to learn,” said Carpenter, whose team is down to an eight-player active roster. Not a single player returned from the nationally ranked Lady Jets team which advanced to the NJCAA (National Junior College Athletic Association) National Tournament in Casper, Wyoming last season.
Despite no returners, the Lady Jets do have eight sophomore transfers or redshirts on this year’s team. Three of those sophomores are in the Lady Jets starting line-up. Sophomore guard Taja Bennett from Dallas, TX; sophomore guard Jaidyn Elam from Pontiac, MI; and sophomore guard Jada Jones from Fort Lauderdale, FL: are helping provide experience for the young team.
Bennett scored in double digits in both of the games this weekend and Elam scored in double-digits in one and had nine points in the other contest. Jones added seven and eight points.
In the opening game against Eastern Florida State College on Friday, Bennett was the top scorer with 23 points. She was joined by freshman guard Ja’Niya Broome of Hamilton, GA; who had 14 points and sophomore Jaidyn Elam who came away with 12 points and led the team in rebounds with 10 for a double-double in that game.
Jones contributed seven points and then freshman Candice Ganga from Paris, France; added six points. Glory Kaine, a sophomore from Nigeria closed out the scoring with two points and five rebounds.
The Lady Jets trailed 19 – 13 at the end of the first quarter and were down 35 – 42 at the end of the first half. Eastern Florida State continued to outscore the Lady Jets in the third and fourth quarters to walk away with the 80 – 64 victory.
In the match-up with Daytona State College on Saturday, freshman guard Ja’Niya Broome led the Lady Jets with 39 points and eight rebounds. Taja Bennett added 10 points of her own and six rebounds. They were the only two players in double-digits for the Lady Jets in the 98 – 89 loss.
Sophomore Jaidyn Elam and freshman Candice Ganga from France accounted for nine points each and then Jada Jones tossed in eight points. Sophomores Nyla Buyck and Glory Kaine had three and two points respectively.
The Lady Jets trailed 28 – 19 at the end of the first quarter were down 55 – 41 at the half and despite a tiny comeback in the third and fourth quarters, they were still down 98 – 89 at the final buzzer.
The Lady Jets are scheduled to play Florida Southwestern at 8 p.m. on Friday, November 28th in the Pete Arrington Classic and then will returne to play Motlow State at 7 p.m. on Saturday, November 29th. The tournament will officially kick off on Friday, at 4 p.m. with Albany Tech vs. Motlow and Central Georgia Tech and Walters State will play at 6 p.m. Friday.
On Saturday, three games will be held. Albany Tech and Walters State play at 3 p.m. followed by Central Georgia Tech and Florida Southwestern at 5 p.m. and the Lady Jets hosting Motlow State at 7 p.m.
Only two games are set for Sunday, November 30. Albany Tech opens against Florida Southwestern at 1 p.m. and Central Georgia Tech will play Motlow State at 3 p.m.