SGTC Lady Jets move up in NJCAA national rankings to 11th

   The South Georgia Technical College Lady Jets were able to climb two spots in the National Junior College Athletic Association (NJCAA) Division I women’s intercollegiate basketball polls into 11^th place after securing a big win over the 17^th ranked Florida Southwestern Buccaneers last week.  The Lady Jets are 18 – 4 on the season

  The Lady Jets had climbed as high as the fifth-place spot nationally after opening the season unbeaten, but four tough losses dropped them as low as 21^st before they started climbing back to 14^th, 13^th and now in the 11^th place position.

    SGTC Athletic Director and Lady Jets head coach James Frey is pleased that his team moved up but he realizes this is a day to day and week to week ranking and that his team needs to play every time they step on the court.   “We are improving each week,” said Frey.  “I thought we played great at times against Florida Southwestern but that is how we need to play every time we step on the court.  We have some tough conference games ahead of us and we need to stay focused on what is at stake.”

   Three Rivers Community College moved into first place this week at 17 – 0 and Shelton State climbed into the second place positions with a 17 – 1 record.  Northwest Florida State College slipped from first to third after a loss and Georgia Highlands moved into 4^th place.  The College of Southern Idaho is currently in the fifth place spot.

   Western Nebraska Community College, Jones College, Wabash Valley College, Moberly Area Community College and Tyler Junior College filled the sixth to 10 place spots with South Georgia Tech moving up to 11^th place.  Trinity Valley, Pensacola State, New Mexico and Chipola rounded out the top 15.

   In addition to the overall team rankings, four Lady Jets and four Jets continued to be highlighted for their individual efforts.  Freshmen Alexia Diseko and Fanta Gassama along with sophomores Kamya Hollingshed and Maikya Simmons were the four Lady Jets spotlighted.  Jets Sophomores Jalen Reynolds, Will Johnston, Marvin McGhee, III, and Malik Battle were the four Jets singled out for their individual efforts on the court.

    Freshman center Fanta Gassama led the Lady Jets in individual stats this week.  She is currently the third leading rebounder in the nation with 254 over 21 games. Her teammate Alexia Dizeko, another freshman was ranked 16^th in total rebounds with 189 in 22 games.  These two Lady Jets were also highlighted for the field goal percentage shooting.  Gassama is 32^nd hitting 56.5 of her attempted shots and Diseko is ranked 33^rd in nation hitting 56.4 of her shots.

    Gassama went on to standout in the defensive rebounding category.  She was ranked 10^th nationally averaging 7.4 per game.  She is listed as 16^th in offensive rebounding with another 4.7 per game.  She is 8^th overall in rebounds per game averaging 12.1 per outing.

     Alexia Dizeko, the freshman shooting forward from Switzerland, is currently the 12^th best scorer in the nation with a total of 353 points in 22 games.  Red-shirt sophomore Kamya Hollingshed from Locus Grove, GA, joined her on this elite list in the 41^st spot with a total of 282 points so far this season.

    Dizeko is also 45^th in total points per game averaging 16 each outing and ranked 40^th in free-throw percentage shooting hitting 81.1 of her shots.  Her teammate, Maikya Simmons, the sophomore point guard from Stafford, VA, is ranked 12^th in assists per game with an average of 5.4 to close out the individual accomplishments listed in the national rankings.

   Jets sophomore forward Jalen Reynolds from Darien, Georgia, earned individual rankings in five categories the NJCAA weekly stats.  He is currently ranked 4^th in the nation in defensive rebounds per game averaging 8.3, 5^th in total rebounds with 225, and 7^th in total rebounds per game with an average of 11.3.   He also is 31^st in the nation in field goal percentage shooting hitting 63.2 of his attempts. His 5^th category is in blocks per game.  He came in 45^th with an average of 1.8 blocks each game.

   Sophomores Will Johnston, a point guard from Australia, and Marvin McGhee, III, a guard from Atlanta, Georgia are both garnering attention on the court for their scoring ability.  McGhee is currently 28^th overall in points with 357 this season and Johnson is listed as 35^th with 345 total points.  McGhee is also listed as 32^nd in points averaged per game with 19.8.

   Johnston is also listed as 24^th in the nation in free throw percentage shooting with an 86% success rate and 26^th in assists per game with an average of 5.6 each outing.  The other Jet listed in the individual rankings is sophomore guard Malik Battle from Douglasville, GA.  He is 16^th in the nation in three-point percentage shooting.  He has hit 48.1 percent of his shots this season in 15 games.    The Jets and Lady Jets are on the road this week. 

The Lady Jets play Central Georgia Tech on Tuesday, January 24^th at 5:30 p.m.  Central Georgia Tech’s Lady Titans are currently 2 – 5 and in fifth place.  The Jets travel to Cuthbert on Wednesday, January 25^th to play Andrew College at 7 p.m. The Lady Jets travel to Cuthbert to play Andrew College at 1 p.m., Friday, January 28th and then the Jets host East Georgia State and former Jets head coach Travis Garrett on Saturday, January 29th at 3 p.m.