Former South Georgia Technical College Lady Jets making an impact at Division I level

March 31, 2020
South Georgia Technical College’s six sophomores from the 2018 – 2019 season all signed letters of intent to play college and continue their education at the next level. Five players are making an impact in NCAA Division I. Shown (l to r) are Audrey Maulden (20), Bigue Sarr (21), Alyssa Nieves (4), Ricka Jackson (1), Fatou Pouye (12) , and Mari Hill (10).
South Georgia Technical College’s six sophomores from the 2018 – 2019 season all signed letters of intent to play college and continue their education at the next level. Five players are making an impact in NCAA Division I. Shown (l to r) are Audrey Maulden (20), Bigue Sarr (21), Alyssa Nieves (4), Ricka Jackson (1), Fatou Pouye (12) , and Mari Hill (10).

   Before the Cororavirus pandemic, six members of the nationally ranked South Georgia Technical College (SGTC) Lady Jets women’s basketball squad that graduated in 2019 were making quite an impact on the Division I and Division 3 colleges and universities across the nation. 

    Bigue Sarr, a 6’ 3” center from Kaolack, Senegal; Ricka Jackson, a 5’ 10” forward from Ewa Beach, HI; Fatou Pouye, a 6’ 0” forward from Kaolack, Senegal; Alyssa Nieves, a 5’ 7” guard from Tampa, FL; and Mari Hill, a 5’ 6” guard from Aichi Japan, each signed letters of intent to continue their education and play Division I basketball this season.  Sarr signed with Oklahoma State University, Jackson is playing at Texas Tech University, Pouye is at Western Kentucky University; Nieves is making an impact at Morehead State University and Mari Hill made history already at Bowling Green State University.

   The other graduate from the South Georgia Technical College Lady Jets 2018 -2019 successful team was Aubry Maulden from St. Simons, GA, and she signed with Wesleyan College in Macon, Georgia to play Division 3 basketball.

    These six young women led the South Georgia Technical College Lady Jets to their first unbeaten regular season conference record for head coach James Frey with an 18 – 0 performance to capture the Georgia Collegiate Athletic Association (GCAA) regular season title.  The Lady Jets earned the right to advance to the National Junior College Athletic Association (NJCAA) for the fifth time in seven years and finished the season ranked 20th in the NJCAA during their sophomore season. 

   Sarr, who was a GCAA first-team All-Conference player at SGTC, is filling a key role for the Oklahoma State University Cowgirls.  She was coming off the bench and averaging 2.8 points and 2.2 rebounds per game.  She has played in each game this season but injuries to other key personnel have elevated her to a starter earning her nearly 32 minutes per game on the court in the last two games.  Oklahoma State University is currently 12 – 7 overall and 3 – 4 in the NCAA Division I Big 12 conference.

    Her teammate, Ricka Jackson, who was selected to the All-Tournament team and a second team GCAA All-Conference player, wound up playing in the Big 12 NCAA Division I conference for Texas Tech University.  The Lady Raiders are 13 – 5 overall and 2 – 5 in the conference.  Jackson has played in 15 games and started one.  She is averaging 4.4 points per game, 1.5 rebounds, and has 15 assists and nineteen steals.

   Fatou Pouye, a second team GCAA player, is playing for the Western Kentucky Lady Toppers in the NCAA Division I Conference USA league.  She has played in 18 games this season and started once.  She is averaging 3.3 points in about 14.8 minutes of play.  She is a .436 field goal percentage shooter and a .647 free throw shooter.  The Lady Toppers are 12 – 6 on the season and 4 – 3 in Conference USA.

   Alyssa Nieves, an NJCAA Honorable Mention All-American and MVP of the District J championship game at SGTC, chose to play at Morehead State University which is Division I in the Ohio Valley Conference.  She has started four games for the Lady Eagles.  She is averaging 15.3 minutes per game and 3.9 points.  She has 12 assists, 13 steals and two blocks in addition to 16 rebounds.  The Lady Eagles are 8 – 11 overall and 4-4 in the conference.

   Mari Hill, MVP of the Region XVII championship tournament for SGTC, made history this season for the Bowling Green State University Lady Falcons, which compete in the NCAA Division I Mid-American Conference.  She became the first Japanese basketball player in the Mid-American Conference.  Her team is currently 8 – 11 overall and 1 – 6 in the MAC East.  She has started all 19 games for the Lady Falcons this season and is averaging 7.3 points per game with 3.2 rebounds, 63 assists and 32 steals.

   The sixth member of the 2018 -2019 Lady Jets to sign a letter of intent to play at the next level was Aubrey Maulden.  She has played in 17 games this season and is averaging 4.5 per game with 2.8 rebounds and 1.3 assists.  The Lady Wolves are 1 – 18 overall and 1 – 9 in the conference.

   This season, the Lady Jets have six sophomores and they are still hoping to sign to play Division I basketball at the next level as well.  They ended the season ranked 11th nationally and qualified for the NJCAA Division I women’s basketball tournament.  Despite the cancellation of the national tournament, the current Lady Jets posted the best record in the history of the men’s or women’s college basketball programs with a 30 – 2 overall record.  They also clinched their 5th consecutive GCAA regular season title, and their fourth Region XVII tournament and the District J championships.  This season would have been the Lady Jets fourth consecutive trip to the national tournament in five years and their seventh trip in the history of the program.