Lady Jets preparing for the NJCAA Division I National Tournament competition
The 22nd-ranked South Georgia Technical College Lady Jets are hoping to expand on their 13-game winning streak when they take on the 11th seeded Hutchinson Community College Blue Dragons in the first round of the National Junior College Athletic Association (NJCAA) Division I Women’s basketball tournament in Casper, Wyoming. That game is Wednesday, March 26 at 6:45 p.m. (EST) and will be aired live at https://www.njcaa.org/network. The cost to view the games is $12 per day or $35 for the entire tournament. The games will also be available on ESPN+.
The Lady Jets have three sophomores on the 2024 – 2025 team. Shown above with the GCAA/NJCAA Region XVII tournament trophy (l to r) are: Enola Papin (24), Maria Favero (11) and Mio Sakano (30).
This is the 11th time in the Lady Jets 20-year women’s intercollegiate basketball history that they have qualified for the NJCAA national tournament. This will be second-year athletic director and Lady Jets head basketball coach Jason Carpenter’s first trip to the national tournament as a head coach.
“There will be a lot of good basketball played in this tournament,” said Carpenter. “If we play well, we should do well. This is a single elimination tournament. Everyone starts with a blank slate and only the winners advance. So, to keep advancing, we need to win.”
The Lady Jets will face off against the NJCAA 2024 Division 1 women’s basketball national champion Hutchinson Community College Blue Dragons from Hutchinson, Kansas at the Ford Wyoming Center in Casper, WY. Hutchinson Community College earned an at-large berth to the tournament and were seeded 11th. The winner of that game will face the sixth seeded Three Rivers Community College on Friday, March 28 at 6:45 p.m. (eastern time).
Hutchinson is 28 – 4 this season and were 21 – 3 in the conference. They lost 45 – 42 to Coffeyville Community College in their conference semi-final game. Dodge City, KS, won the NJCAA Region 6 (Plains) tournament and received a bye in the first round of the national tournament with the number 4 seed. Hutchinson won the tournament last season and were 37 – 0.
The Lady Jets won the Georgia Collegiate Athletic Association (GCAA) regular season and the GCAA/NJCAA Region XVII tournament to qualify for the national tournament. Sixteen teams qualified by winning their districts and eight other teams received at-large bids.
The 24-teams in the NJCAA National tournament by ranking 1 – 24 are: Chipola, Wabash Valley, Northwest Florida State College, Dodge City, New Mexico Junior College, Three Rivers community College, McLennan Community College, Shelton State, South Plains, Eastern Arizona, Hutchinson, Florida Southwestern, Arizona Western, Murray State, Casper, Walters State, Kilgore, Salt Lake, Wallace State – Hanceville, State Fair, Itawamba, South Georgia Technical College, Olive-Harvey, and Monroe University.
The South Georgia Technical College Jets Booster Club will be helping send 15 players and two coaches to the national tournament. Individuals wishing to help support the Lady Jets trip to the national tournament can send a donation to the SGTC Foundation, P.O. Box 6102, Americus, GA and earmark the funds for the Lady Jets National Tournament or Jets Booster Club. All donations are tax deductible. For more information contact the SGTC Foundation office at 229-931-2248.