Lady Jets open conference season with win, Jets lose

The South Georgia Technical College Lady Jets struggled but still managed to take a 74 – 63 Georgia Collegiate Athletic Association (GCAA) conference win against Central Georgia Technical College in their opening conference match-up. The Jets were not as fortunate. They fell to 0 – 1 in the conference and 4 – 11 overall after dropping a 94 – 74 decision to the Central Georgia Tech Titans.
“It was very sloppy but we found a way to win,” said South Georgia Technical College Athletic Director and Lady Jets head coach Jason Carpenter. The Lady Jets had 21 turnovers in the 40-minute contest but Central Georgia Tech had 27. The difference in the game came down to the free throw production.
The Lady Jets were 23 of 32 from the free throw line compared to Central Georgia Tech’s nine of 17 from the foul line. Those additional 14 points from the free throw line allowed the Lady Jets to take the 74 – 63 victory. The Lady Jets are 1 – 0 in the conference and 6 – 10 overall. The Lady Titans are 0 – 1 in the conference and 8 – 4 on the season.
There were only two ties in the contest and one lead change. The Lady Jets were up 17 – 14 at the end of the first quarter and were still only up by three points at the half, 32 – 29. The Lady Jets managed to outscore Central Georgia Tech 22 – 20 in the third quarter and 20 – 14 in the final quarter to capture the 74 – 63 victory.
Taja Bennett, a sophomore guard from Dallas, Texas, led the Lady Jets in scoring with 18 points. She was joined in double-figures by freshman Ja’Niya Broome, sophomore guard Jaidyn Elam, and freshman point guard Candace Martin.
Ja’Niya Broome, the freshman guard from Hamilton, GA, walked away with 15 points, six rebounds, and two assists. She was followed by Jaidyn Elam, a sophomore guard from Pontiac, MI, who had 13 points and 8 rebounds on the night along with one assist and two blocked shots. Candice Ganga, the freshman point guard from Paris, France, closed out the double-digit scoring with 10 points and five assists.
The Lady Jets Glory Kaine and Jada Jones both added seven points each and Sephora Benth closed out the scoring with four points. Central Georgia Tech was led by Gracie Byford with 19 points and Aven Sasser with 13 points.
Then the Jets and Central Georgia Tech Titans followed. For 25-minutes, the two teams battled back and forth. The Jets were down 41 – 36 at the half but came back to close the gap to two points in a 52 – 50 battle with 14:50 remaining in the game. Then the wheels came off and they allowed Central Georgia Tech to pull ahead and capture the 94 – 74 victory.
Sophomore center Matt Mbole was the leading scorer for the Jets with 19 points. He also led the team in rebounds with 17 for a double-double night. Marcellus Myles, a freshman guard from Thomaston scored 18 points and had one assist. Clark Mastin and Guillaume Schoentgen closed out the double-digit scoring with 10 points each. Mastin had four rebounds and eight assists and Schoentgen had five rebounds and one assist.
Marc Ferdy contributed seven points, Jeremy Nixon came way with five points, Reggie Cleveland accounted for three points and Illich Yacaman had two points on the night. Central Georgia Tech Kaziaes Hemphill led his team in scoring with 21 points.
The Lady Jets will return to the floor on Saturday, January 10, at 1 p.m. for a home game against Albany Tech. The Jets will travel to South Georgia state College in Waycross on Wednesday, January 14 and then both the Jets and Lady Jets travel to Swainsboro for a game on Saturday, January 17 against East Georgia State College at 1 p.m. and 3 p.m.