Lady Jets remain undefeated in GCAA, Jets fall to 1 – 2

Rome, GA – The South Georgia Technical College Lady Jets remained undefeated in Division I of the Georgia Collegiate Athletic Association (GCAA) conference with an impressive 59 – 45 victory over Georgia Highlands in Rome, Ga. That win put the Lady Jets at 4 – 0 and still in first place in the conference. They are 16 – 3 overall this season.
In the second half of the conference double-header, the Jets were hoping to end the top-ranked Georgia Highlands Chargers 16-game winning streak, but Jets head coach Travis Garret and the Jets fell short in a 79 – 55 decision. That loss left the Jets tied for fifth place in the conference with a 1 – 2 and 7 – 10 overall performance.
SGTC Athletic Director and Lady Jets head coach James Frey was especially proud of his team’s effort on the road against former SGTC Lady Jets head coach Brandon Harrell and his Lady Chargers, which are now tied for second place in division I in the GCAA after the loss to the Lady Jets.
“I was very proud of the effort from our Lady Jets,” said Lady Jets head coach James Frey. “This was a very big win for the program. Brandon Harrell and the Lady Chargers are an excellent team and when you combine their skill and talent with their home court advantage, we were very pleased with the win.”
Coach Frey held out sophomore’s La’Deja James and Camille Coleman from the starting line-up and went with four freshmen and sophomore guard Shaineequah Fluellyn to start the game. The four freshmen included forwards Houlfat Mahouchiza and Esther Adenike and guards Kana Suzuki and Trakyra Kidd.
The Lady Jets jumped out to a 21 – 14 lead at the end of the first quarter but Georgia Highlands closed the gap to 32 – 29 by the half. South Georgia Tech came out strong in the second half and outscored Georgia Highlands 14 – 8 and 13 – 8 in the third and fourth quarters to secure the 59 – 45 win.
Shaineequah Fluellyn led the team in scoring with 17 points. She also had two rebounds, two assists and three steals. Freshman guard Kanna Suzuki added 12 points including three, three-point shots. Houlfat Mahouchiza added nine points and Trakyra Kidd and Esther Adenike both added six points. Adenike had 11 rebounds.
Desiree Corbin came off the bench and tossed in five points and had five rebounds. Madison Cameron and Sceret Ethridge closed out the scoring with two points each.
Following that exciting win, the Jets came out to face the top-ranked and defending GCAA Champion Georgia Highlands Chargers. The Jets fell behind 38 – 25 at the end of the first half and Georgia Highlands continued to apply pressure in the second half to take their seventeenth consecutive victory, 79 – 55.
Only one Jet was in double figures and that was guard Jalen Thomas with 13 points. Pat Welch contributed nine points, Bobby Jackson added eight and then Mike Boone and Ed Jones were next with seven points each.
Forty-four of the Jets total 55 points came from those starting five players. Trevon Teague and Jamon Moore came off the bench and added three points each. Derrick Traywick and Davion Clark both added two points and Andre Kenney had one point.
Both the Jets and the Lady Jets will be back in conference action Wednesday, January 18th when they host the Albany Tech Titans and Lady Titans at 5:30 and 7:30. The top-ranked Lady Jets will face the sixth-ranked Lady Titans, who are 1 – 3 in the conference and 7 – 9 overall. The Jets, who are tied for fifth place in the conference, will face Albany Tech, which is tied for eighth place with a 1 – 3 conference and 6 – 12 overall record.
The Jets and Lady Jets will also play at home on Saturday, January 21st when the Lady Jets host Chattahoochee Tech at 1 p.m. and the Jets place Gordon state College at 3 p.m. in conference match-ups.