SGTC Lady Jets move up in NJCAA national rankings to 9th

   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 9^th place this week.  They will have that ranking tested today when they host the 4^th ranked Georgia Highlands team led by former Lady Jets head coach Brandon Harrell in a 4 p.m. matchup in the Hangar on the Americus campus.

  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, 11^th and now in the 9^th place position.  They are currently in second place in the Georgia Collegiate Athletic Associate conference with a 9 – 2 record behind the top-ranked Georgia Highlands Lady Chargers with an 11 – 0 season.  SGTC is 21 – 4 overall and Georgia Highlands is 20 – 2 on the season.

   Ranked ahead of Georgia Highlands in the National Junior College Athletic Association (NJCAA) is Three Rivers Community College, Shelton State Community College and Northwest Florida State College.  Each of these held those same spots last week.  College of Southern Idaho is still in the fifth place position.

   Western Nebraska Community College, Wabash Valley College, Moberly Area Community College, followed by the SGTC Lady Jets and Trinity Valley Community College College filled the sixth to 10 place spots.  Tyler Junior College, New Mexico Junior College, Chipola, Jones and Eastern Oklahoma State College rounded out the top 15 in descending order.

   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 fifth leading rebounder in the nation with 274 over 23 games. Her teammate Alexia Dizeko, another freshman was ranked 29^th in total rebounds with 193 in 23 games.  These two Lady Jets were also highlighted for the field goal percentage shooting.  Gassama is 30^th hitting 55.8 of her attempted shots and Diseko is ranked 23^rd in nation hitting 56.7 of her shots.

    Gassama went on to standout in the three rebounding categories.  She is listed as the 7^th best rebounder in the nation with an average of 11.9 total rebounds per game.  She is 11^th in the defensive rebounding category with an average of 7.2 per game.  Offensively she is listed as 14^th with 4.7 offensive rebounds each outing.

       Alexia Dizeko, the freshman shooting forward from Switzerland, is currently the 16^th best scorer in the nation with a total of 362 points in 23 games.  Red-shirt sophomore Kamya Hollingshed from Locus Grove, GA, joined her on this elite list in the 45^th spot with a total of 313 points so far this season.

    Dizeko is also 32^nd in free throw percentage shooting hitting 81.5 percent of her attempts.  Her teammate, Maikya Simmons, the sophomore point guard from Stafford, VA, is ranked 12^th in assists per game with an average of 5.3 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 total rebounds with 258 in 23 games.  He is also listed as 6^th in defensive rebounds per game averaging 8.0, 8^th in total rebounds per game with 11.2 and 49^th in offensive rebounds with an average of 3.2.  He came in 34^th in blocks with an average of 1.8 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 19^th overall in points with 422 this season and Johnson is listed as 28^th with 397 total points.  McGhee is also listed as 30^th in points averaged per game with 20.1.

   Johnston is also listed as 14^th in the nation in free throw percentage shooting with an 87.9% success rate and 24^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 28^th in the nation in three-point percentage shooting.  He has hit 46.2 percent of his shots this season in 18 games. Marvin McGhee is listed as 40^th with a 45.2 percent average.

   The Jets and Lady Jets will both be at home in a double-header for the Alumni/Sophomore Day games on Saturday, February 5^th at 1 p.m. and 3 p.m. The Lady Jets open with Central Georgia Tech at 1 p.m. and the men will host Southern Crescent at 3 p.m. in GCAA match-ups.  This is also the 20^th anniversary of the Jets men’s basketball program and the members of the first team will be spotlighted during the half-time of the women’s games.  All sophomore players will be recognized between the two games and then at the half-time of the men’s games all former players, retired faculty and staff will be spotlighted.  The Americus-Sumter County Chamber of Commerce will be hosting a tailgate at 12:15 with free hotdogs and hamburgers for SGTC students, faculty, alumni, family, and friends.