Four SGTC Jets and Lady Jets players highlighted in NJCAA individual rankings

January 31, 2018
Four South Georgia Technical College Lady Jets and Jets were included in NJCAA individual rankings recently. Esther Adenike (24), Houlfat Mahouchiza (5), Marquel Wiggins (34) and Rico Simmons (1) were recognized for their talents on the court.
Four South Georgia Technical College Lady Jets and Jets were included in NJCAA individual rankings recently. Esther Adenike (24), Houlfat Mahouchiza (5), Marquel Wiggins (34) and Rico Simmons (1) were recognized for their talents on the court.

The South Georgia Technical College Lady Jets were still not able to break back into the top 25 list in the National Junior College Athletic Association (NJCAA) Division I women’s basketball rankings this week but they are still listed as one of the five colleges receiving votes to be included in the national poll.
The Lady Jets came back and posted an impressive 66 – 47 win over Albany Technical College last week after they had dropped back to back road losses in a three-day span to Wallace State-Hanceville in Alabama and then to Georgia Collegiate Athletic Association (GCAA) foe Central Georgia Technical College in Macon. The Lady Jets are now 19 – 5 overall and 11 – 1 and in first place in the Georgia Collegiate Athletic Association conference.
Shelton State remained in the top spot in the NJCAA January 30th, 2018 poll. Gulf Coast was able to move up into the number two spot from 4th place and Jones County moved from fifth to third place. Northwest Florida State fell from third to fourth and the former second ranked New Mexico squad is now in fifth place.
Mobley Area, MO; Tallahassee, FL; Trinity Valley, TX; Salt Lake, UT; and Seward County, KS rounded out the top 10 spots in the women’s standings. Two new teams did get added to the NJCAA Top 25 National poll this week. They included Jacksonville, TX; and Iowa Western, IA; at the 23rd and 24th spots. Panola and Southern Idaho were the two teams who were dropped. They were 21st and 23rd in the previous week’s post.
Despite not being able to break back into the national team rankings, two of the Lady Jets were still included in the national individual rankings. They are sophomore Esther Adenike, 6’ 2” forward from Nigeria, and Houlfat Mahouchiza, a 6’ 1” forward from France.
Adenike is currently the fourth best rebounder in the nation with a total of 267 this season. She dropped down one spot from third place. The top rebounder in the nation has 329. Adenike also remained in 9th place in rebounds per game with an average of 11.1 per game. Adenike is 19th in defensive rebounds with an average of 6.6 and 13th in offensive rebounds per game with an average of 4.6. She is also listed as 48th in the nation field goal percentage shooting.
Her teammate, Houlfat Mahouchiza, is currently ranked 21st in total rebounds this season with 195, and 27th in the nation in blocked shots per game. She is averaging blocking 1.8 shots each outing. She is also shooting 84.2% from foul line and is ranked 22nd in the nation in that category. She moved up six spots in the free throw shooting percentage ranking this week.
The SGTC Jets had two players included in the NJCAA individual rankings this week. Sophomore Marquel Wiggins of Oglethorpe, GA, returned for the sixth consecutive week and Rico Simmons, rejoined the national rankings after dropping out from them last week. This is his third week as a national leader.
Wiggins dropped two spots into 7th place in the nation in offensive rebounds per game. The 6’ 6” forward is averaging 4.5 offensive rebounds per game. He has a total of 201 rebounds this season which put him at 20th in the nation in total number of rebounds. He is ranked 31st in total rebounds per game with an average of 9.6.
Simmons, a 5’ 9” sophomore guard, is tied for 41st in Division I in the NJCAA national rankings with a total of 374 points in 21 games. He is also listed as 34th in the nation in free throw percentage shooting with an 84.9 success rate from the foul line.
The South Georgia Tech Jets and Lady Jets will host East Georgia State College in a conference double-header on Wednesday, January 31st at 5:30 and 7:30 p.m. The two teams will travel to Macon for a rematch with Central Georgia Tech on Saturday, February 3rd at 2 p.m. and 4 p.m. and then both will return home on Wednesday, February 7th in a double-header with Andrew College at 5:30 and 7:30 p.m.
A special South Georgia Technical College Alumni and Sophomore Day celebration is scheduled for Saturday, February 10th when the Jets and Lady Jets host Georgia Highlands at 1 p.m. and 3 p.m. in crucial conference games. An alumni game is scheduled at 10:30 a.m. featuring former Jets and Lady Jets players and then a tailgate with hot dogs and hamburgers will begin at 11:30 p.m. Special fun activities will be held as well as a DJ and social in Hicks Hall beginning at 6 p.m.