Lady Jets looking forward to NJCAA National Tournament Appearance in Wyoming
CASPER, WYOMING – The scenery and the weather in Casper, Wyoming, is a lot different from Southwest Georgia. Since arriving the Lady Jets have seen beautiful mountains, a 3-inch snow shower, and experienced wind gusts daily between 40 and 65 mph. But inside the gymnasium on the basketball court, the dimensions from one end of the court to the other, the distance from the foul line to the goal and the height of the goal from the floor, are all the same.
Those similarities on the court are what South Georgia Technical College Lady Jets head coach Jason Carpenter hopes will be what his team focuses on when they play their first game in the National Junior College Athletic Association (NJCAA) Division I women’s basketball National Tournament Wednesday, March 26 at 6:45 p.m. (eastern time) in the Ford Center in Casper, Wyoming against the National Junior College Athletic Association (NJCAA) 2024 defending National Champion Hutchinson Community College Blue Dragons.
SGTC freshman Kaiya Carter (3) is shown above congratulating Stephanie Salumu (13) on a good move in practice.
“I am proud of what this team has accomplished thus far this season, honored to represent both South Georgia Technical College (SGTC) and the Georgia Collegiate Athletic Association (GCAA) conference in the national tournament,” said Carpenter, who also added that he was “humbled by all the sacrifices made by our players and the support received from the SGTC community.”
This will be Lady Jets head coach Jason Carpenter’s first NJCAA National Tournament as a head coach in the GCAA and the first for all of the players on his squad. The Lady Jets have qualified for the National Tournament 11 times in 20-years but this is a first for this coach and these players and they want to make the best of this opportunity.
“I have always set championship expectations for myself as a coach and for my teams,” explained Carpenter. “When I took this position at SGTC, I understood the winning history and legacy I was assuming. I viewed it as both an opportunity and a responsibility. I’d be lying if I said there weren’t times last season and even stretches this season it felt like we were miles away from a championship reality but it was always the vision. Ultimately the speed with which it happened is a testament to the young ladies who returned from last season, the freshmen who trusted and bought in to culture and vision, and the entire SGTC support network. “
When asked what he thinks it will take for the 22nd ranked Lady Jets to capture a win over the defending national champions and the 11th ranked Hutchinson Community College team, Carpenter revealed. “Championship basketball requires championship effort defensively and championship execution offensively. If we can accomplish that we should be ok.”
But he also acknowledged, “Hutchinson Community College is a perennial power nationally. This season’s team features the Kansas Junior College Athletic Association Player of the year and returns several other players from a team that won last year’s national championship. They are very well coached, talented, and disciplined.”
Then Carpenter followed up that statement with some compliments about his Lady Jets team. “I think the best part of this year’s team is the passion and togetherness this team plays with. I’ve been fortunate to be the coach of some great teams in the past; there have been a few that matched the passion and togetherness of this group but none that have more. This group still has a lot they want to prove and they are motived by the opportunity and stage to do it.
“This season is an important building block in my plan to take SGTC women’s basketball to new heights. This team features the GCAA Freshman AND GCAA Player of the Year in Jamiah Gregory, freshman Co-Defensive Player of Year Stephie Salumu, our second leading scorer in conference and GCAA Conference tournament All-tourney selection freshman Kaiya Carter, and an emerging 6’4” center in freshman Mariia Ignatchenko. The future is very bright,” continued Carpenter.
So, for now, the Lady Jets are adjusting to their new surroundings, practicing daily, and getting ready for their first-round game against Hutchinson Community College on Wednesday, March 26 at 6:45 p.m. (eastern time) in the Ford Center in Casper, Wyoming.
The game can be viewed live at https://www.njcaa.org/network or on ESPN+. There will be a cost to view the game on the NJCAA site.