Lady Jets clinch conference title with win over Albany Tech; Jets also win
Albany, GA – The South Georgia Technical College Lady Jets clinched their second consecutive Georgia Collegiate Athletic Association (GCAA) regular season conference title recently with a 56 – 42 victory over the Albany Tech Lady Titans in Albany. The Jets also moved up with 90 – 84 win in the double-header.
The Lady Jets are now 24 – 4 overall and 13 – 1 in the conference. The Jets moved to 3 – 11 and 9 – 19 overall.
“With the amount of adversity these young ladies have had to endure the past three weeks, this is by far the most rewarding GCAA Championship I’ve been a part of,” said South Georgia Technical College Athletic Director and Lady Jets head coach James Frey. “To lose our top three players, all sophomore leaders, has been very difficult. I think our younger ladies have done a good job of remaining focused and working really hard to be ready now that it’s their time to step up.”
Coach Frey acknowledged that his players shot the ball poorly against Albany Tech, but commended the ladies for playing extremely hard. “We got up on Albany Tech 19 – 2 in the first quarter and that effort was definitely the difference in the game,” said Frey.
Albany Tech rallied in the second quarter to outscore the Lady Jets 13 – 11 to go into the half down 30 – 15. They came back in the third quarter and outscored the Lady Jets 15 – 13 but South Georgia Tech was able to hang on to their lead and capture the 56 – 42 victory.
Sophomore guard Shaineequah Fluellyn scored 22 points and had eight rebounds to lead the Lady Jets to the victory. She was the only Lady Jet in double-figures in that contest. Freshman forward Esther Adenike scored eight points and had 15 rebounds. Two other freshmen, forward Houlfat Mahouchiza and guard Trakyra Kidd both added seven points.
“We are excited about being able to host the first round of conference tournament on Tuesday, February 28th at 6 p.m. with the possibility of hosting the final four games should we win that first game,” said Frey. “Going into the final regular season home games, there is much to be determined as far as seeding goes for the tournament. The only three spots set in stone are one through three. We are in first place, Georgia Highlands is in second and East Georgia is ranked third. Four through eight are all still up for grabs depending on how this weekend’s games go.”
As the top place seed, the Lady Jets will host the eighth place team Tuesday, February 28th at 6 p.m. in the Hangar. The second place team will host the seventh place squad, third place will host sixth place, and fourth place will host the fifth place team. The four winners will advance to the Region XVII Final Four at the highest remaining seeds location. The semi-final games are set to begin on Friday at 5:30 with the nightcap at 7:30. The Regional 17 Championship game will be held on Saturday at 2 p.m.
The Jets helped their cause with a win over Albany Tech in the second half of that conference match-up. They had five players in double-figures to capture the 90 – 84 victory.
The Jets were up 39 – 33 at the end of the first half, but Albany Tech came back late in the second half to pull ahead by three points before the Jets rallied to capture the win.
“I thought we played a good game but I was even more impressed when Albany Tech made a serious comeback and even took a three-point lead, 80 – 77 with three minutes to go. We kept our composure and fought through some adversity,” said Jets head coach Travis Garrett. “We have been through so much and I tell the players all the time that the struggle is the beauty of the journey. Right now we need to continue to work and get better so we can gain momentum heading into the conference tournament.”
Bobby Jackson was the top scorer for the Jets in that win with 19 points and 11 rebounds. Andre Kennedy also had a double-double with 18 points and 19 rebounds. Jalen Thomas added 18 more points to the mix and then Pat Welch scored 17 points and Marquel Wiggins closed out the double digit scoring with 11 points.
The Jets and Lady Jets host Atlanta Metro for sophomore day on Saturday, February 25th. The Lady Jets kickoff their tournament on Tuesday, February 28th and then the men will host their final regular season game on Saturday, March 5th against South Georgia State College.
Bobby Jackson, 3, led the Jets in scoring with 19 points and 11 rebounds, in the match-up with Albany Tech.