Lady Jets squeak by East Georgia State in NJCAA Region 17 semi-finals
Rome, GA- Sophomore guard Veronica Charles made one of two free throws with 1.9 seconds remaining on the clock to give the South Georgia Technical College Lady Jets a narrow 63 – 60 win over East Georgia State College in the semi-final round of the National Junior College Athletic Association (NJCAA) Region 17 tournament at Georgia Highlands College in Rome, GA. The Lady Jets will face Georgia Highlands in the finals at 2 p.m. on Saturday, April 3rd at Georgia Highlands.
“This was way too close for comfort,” said South Georgia Technical College Lady Jets head coach James Frey after the Lady Jets held on to capture their fourth win this season over East Georgia and earned the right to advance to the NJCAA Region 17 tournament finals.
“We will have to play better to win against Georgia Highlands,” said Frey. Georgia Highlands defeated Central Georgia Technical College in the opening semi-final game of the tournament to also advance to the finals. Georgia Highlands defeated the Lady Jets twice in the regular season to take the Georgia Collegiate Athletic Association (GCAA) regular season title. Those were the only two losses for the Lady Jets in the conference. Georgia Highlands only loss in the GCAA this season was to South Georgia Technical College in Americus.
The Lady Jets would like to even the score with a win in the NJCAA Region 17 tournament finals. The winner of the finals Saturday will advance to the District J Conference championship to earn the right to attend the NJCAA National Tournament in Lubbock, Texas later in April.
The Lady Jets scored first against East Georgia State College but the Bobcats rallied and pulled ahead by five with 5:16 remaining in the first quarter. The two teams ended that quarter tied at 15 – 15. The Lady Jets outscored East Georgia 20 – 9 in the second quarter to take a 35 – 24 lead at that half.
South Georgia Technical College opened up that lead to 17 points with 7:49 left in the third quarter but then East Georgia took charge and outscored the Lady Jets 21 – 12 to put the game at 47 – 45 at the start of the four quarter. The Lady Jets hung on and outscored East Georgia 16 – 15 to win 63 – 60.
Four Lady Jets finished the game in double-figures. Sophomore Moe Shida led the team with 14 points. She also had five rebounds, five assists and one steal. Veronica Charles was close behind with 13 points. She had a total of seven rebounds, and one assist.
Sophomores Imani McNeal and Femme Sikuzani both added 12 points each. Sikuzani also led the team in rebounds with 12. She had an assist and two blocks. McNeal had four rebounds. Sarah Lwambo tossed in four points and then Niya McGuire and Kamya Hollingshed had three points each. Abby Solway closed out the scoring with one point.
Milana Holmes led East Georgia in scoring with 17 points. Ka’Shay Hankerson was the only other Bobcat in double-digits with 13.