Lady Jets fall to Wallace State Lady Lions

HANCEVILLE, ALA. – A low scoring performance and high turnovers spelled disaster for the South Georgia Technical College Lady Jets recently when they traveled to Hanceville, AL, to take on the Wallace State’s women’s basketball team. The 14th ranked Lady Jets dropped a 56-48 decision to the 13 – 6 Wallace State team at Tom Drake Coliseum.
“We did not play well,” said South Georgia Technical College Athletic Director and Lady Jets head coach James Frey. “When you turn the ball over and miss easy shots, you are not going to win against good opponents. We just proved that. Wallace State got after it and did what they needed to do to win.”
Wallace State had just dropped an 86-67 decision to Shelton State, the number one team in the National Junior College Athletic Association Division I women’s basketball poll. They were pleased to be able to rebound and upset another nationally ranked team to get their season back on track.
South Georgia Technical College defeated Wallace State at home during the Lady Jets Thanksgiving Classic 78 – 68, but this time the tide turned and the Lady Lions upended the Lady Jets by eight in Alabama.
In three of the Lady Jets four losses this season, South Georgia Tech has only scored 48, 41, and 53 points. The Lady Jets first loss was to Hillsborough Community College in Tampa Bay in November and in that game they lost 88 – 82, but overcame a 69 – 50 deficit at the beginning of the fourth quarter to pull within six points at the final buzzer.
“Wallace State shut down our inside game and we didn’t shoot the ball well from the outside,” said Frey. “We have to go back to the drawing board and make some adjustments.” The Lady Jets had a total of 27 turnovers and only two Lady Jets were in double-figures.
South Georgia Tech jumped out a 16 – 12 lead at the end of the first quarter but then Wallace State came back in the second quarter to go up 29 – 27 at the half. Wallace State outscored South Georgia Tech 15 – 13 in the third quarter and 12 – 8 in the fourth quarter to take the 56 – 48 victory.
Freshman guard Alyssa Nieves led the team in scoring with 16 points. She had three of the Lady Jets five, 3-point shots. Sophomore forward Esther Adenike posted 13 points to close out the double-digit scoring. Houlfat Machouchiza came away with seven points and Sceret Ethridge scored six points. Dakata Toney accounted for three points, CeDeja James had two and Bigue Sarr had one point. The team shot 39% from the floor, 35% from the three point line and 63% from the foul line.
The Lady Jets travel to Warner Robins on Saturday at 2 p.m. to take on the Central Georgia Technical College Lady Titans in a big conference showdown. Central Georgia Tech is in second place in the Georgia Collegiate Athletic Association behind South Georgia Tech. The Lady Jets defeated Central Georgia Tech 78 – 48 on January 3rd.