SGTC’s Lady Jets climb to 20th in the NJCAA national rankings

February 21, 2019
Shown above are the SGTC basketball players ranked nationally in the NJCAA Division I individual statistics January 8th poll. They are: Mari Hill, 10; Alyssa Nieves, 4; Fatou Pouye, 12; Bigue Sarr, 21; and Justin Johnson, 5.
Shown above are the SGTC basketball players ranked nationally in the NJCAA Division I individual statistics poll. They are: Mari Hill, 10; Alyssa Nieves, 4; Fatou Pouye, 12; Bigue Sarr, 21; and Justin Johnson, 5.

The South Georgia Technical College Lady Jets moved up two spots into 20th place in the National Junior College Athletic Association (NJCAA) Division I women’s basketball rankings this week after rolling to impressive wins over Georgia Highlands College and Southern Crescent Technical College to move to 17 – 0, in Georgia Collegiate Athletic Association (GCAA) action. The Lady Jets are 26 – 3 overall.
The Lady Jets are seeking their third straight trip to the National Junior College Athletic Association National Tournament. They must win the NJCAA Region XVII end of the season tournament and a District J play-in game to accomplish that goal. The Lady Jets clinched their fifth conseuctive GCAA regular season title and earned the right to host the NJCAA Region XVII tournament semi-final and final games on March 1st and March 2nd.
The Lady Jets earned back-to-back trips to the National Junior College Athletic Association in the 2016 – 2017 and 2017 – 2018 seasons and the six sophomores on this team are hoping to secure their second title and the third in three years for the Lady Jets.
In addition to the 20th place NJCAA national ranking, the Lady Jets also had four players to earn individual national rankings in different categories. One of South Georgia Tech’s Jets players was also included in the NJCAA men’s individual statistic national rankings.
Sophomore guard Mari Hill from Japan is currently ranked fourth in the nation in assists with an average of 6.4 per game. She is also tied for 9th place in the nation in steals with 3.5 each outing.
Sophomore guard Alyssa Nieves was ranked 8th in the nation in three-point percentage shooting with a 45.4% success rate. She is averaging 14.8 points per game for the Lady Jets.
Sophomore Forward Fatou Pouye from Kaolack, Senegal was listed in three categories. Fatou Pouye moved up to 9th in the nation in offensive rebounding with 4.7 per game. She is also ranked 33rd in total rebounds with 243 this season and 47th in rebounds per game with an average of nine. Sophomor Bigue Sarr was ranked 14th in the nation in blocks per game with 2.3 and 48th in total rebounds with 224.
The only member of the Jets basketball squad to garner national attention in the individual statistics was freshman Justin Johnson of Ft. Lauderdale, FL. The guard is ranked 44th in the nation in total points scored, with a total of 499 points this season. He was also listed as 44th in points per game with an average of 19.2 per outing. The Jets are currently 8 – 5 in the conference and 12 – 15 overall this season.
The next home game for the Jets and Lady Jets will be on Saturday, February 23rd at 1 p.m. and 3 p.m. against Albany Technical College in an alumni/sophomore night celebration for South Georgia Technical College.