Lady Jets move up to two spots into 8th place nationally

   Three wins this past week against Georgia Collegiate Athletic Association opponents allowed the South Georgia Technical College Lady Jets to move up two spots into the number eight position in the National Junior College Athletic Association (NJCAA) Division 1 Women’s basketball rankings this week.  The Lady Jets are 16 – 3 overall and 10 – 2 in the Georgia Collegiate Athletic Association (GCAA).

   Jones College, which defeated the Lady Jets earlier this season, moved into the top spot nationally.  They were followed by Northwest Florida State College, Chipola, Casper College and Trinity Valley Community College to close out the top five spots.  Shelton State Community College is currently ranked sixth, South Plains College is seventh, and the Lady Jets moved up from 10^th to eighth place.  Georgia Highlands College is currently 19^th.

   The Jets were off this week so they remained 8 – 2 in the GCAA and 10 – 6 overall but they still received votes as an honorable mention in the NJCAA national poll.  Georgia Highlands Chargers, which the SGTC Jets beat twice, are currently ranked 17^th in the nation.

    In addition to the national ranking and honorable mention, both the Lady Jets and the Jets had individual players highlighted in the individual national statistics.  Sophomores Veronica Charles, Femme Sikuzani, and Moe Shida were recognized for the Lady Jets and sophomore Jalen Reynolds and freshmen Marvin McGhee were the Jets who received national recognition.

   Jets sophomore forward Jalen Reynolds of Darien, GA, dropped to second place in the NJCAA Division I top rebounding stats.  The week off left him with 199 total rebounds this season and D. Ridgnal of Cowley was able to pass him with a total of 203 rebounds this season.

   Reynolds is also currently third nationally in offensive rebounds per game with an average of 4.4 per game, third in rebounds per game averaging 12.4 this season and seventh in defensive rebounds per game with 8.0.  He is also listed as 46^th in the nation in blocks with an average of 1.8 per game this season.

    The other member of the Jets basketball team to be spotlighted nationally was freshman guard Marvin McGhee of Atlanta.  McGhee was listed as 30^th in the nation in total rebounds with 125.  He has 27 offensive and 98 defensive rebounds in 16 games.  He was also 39^th in the nation in defensive rebounding.  He is averaging 6.1 per game.

    The three Lady Jets to be singled out for their individual efforts include sophomore’s Femme Sikuzani, Veronica Charles and Moe Shida.  Charles, a 5’ 4” inch guard from Benue State, Nigeria, is ranked 15^th nationally in steals.  She is averaging 3.4 per game over 18 games.

    Sophomore center Femme Sikuzani, who stands at 6’ 5” from Goma, DRC, earned national recognition in two different categories.  Sikuzani ranks 10^th in total rebounds.  She has 163 rebounds this season including 71 offensive rebounds and 92 defensive rebounds.  Her average of 3.7 offensive rebounds per game earned her the 40^th spot in that category nationally. 

   Moe Shida, a sophomore guard from Hokkaido, Japan, was also recognized in two categories.  She was 47^th in total points scored this season with 227 and 50^th in three-point percentage shooting with a 41 percent success rate.

   The Lady Jets, who are second in the GCAA standings, will host the third ranked East Georgia College Lady Bobcats tonight at 5:30 p.m. in the Hangar.  The Lady Jets will travel to Swainsboro on Thursday for a rematch at 5:30 and then face them again for the third time on Saturday, March 20^th at 1 p.m. in Americus on Sophomore Day.

   The Jets travel to Albany Tech tonight for a 7 p.m. game and then host the Titans in Americus on Thursday at 7 p.m. before hosting Gordon State College on Saturday, March 20^th at 4 p.m. for Sophomore Day. The SGTC sophomore players will be recognized in-between the two games on Saturday.