Lady Jets qualify for national tournament with win over East Georgia State College

March 15, 2025
The SGTC Lady Jets defeat East Georgia in the GCAA – NJCAA Region XVII Championship game to earn the opportunity to advance to the NJCAA Division I women’s basketball tournament in Casper, Wyoming. They are shown here with the GCAA and NJCC Region XVII plaques.
The SGTC Lady Jets defeat East Georgia in the GCAA – NJCAA Region XVII Championship game to earn the opportunity to advance to the NJCAA Division I women’s basketball tournament in Casper, Wyoming. They are shown here with the GCAA and NJCC Region XVII plaques.

   The top-ranked South Georgia Technical College Lady Jets captured an 84 – 61 victory over the third-ranked East Georgia State College Lady Bobcats in the Georgia Collegiate Athletic Association (GCAA) – National Junior College Athletic Association (NJCAA) Region XVII Championship tournament to earn a trip to the NJCAA Division 1 women’s basketball tournament in Casper, Wyoming, March 25 – April 1st.

GCAA Executive Director David Elder is shown above presenting GCAA Player of the Year honors to South Georgia Tech’s Jamiah Gregory.

   This will be the 11th time in 20-years that the Lady Jets have qualified for the NJCAA Division 1 women’s basketball national tournament but it will be the first trip for second year SGTC Athletic Director ad Lady Jets head coach Jason Carpenter.  First year head coach Brandon Harrell took the Lady Jets to the national tournament in 2010 for the first time since their inception in the 2004 – 2005 season.  Second year head coach James Frey took the team to the national tournament nine times from 2013 to 2023.  Carpenter took the helm of the Lady Jets in 2024 and he has earned his spot at the big dance in his second season with South Georgia Tech.

   “I couldn’t be prouder of this team,” said Carpenter after his Lady Jets secured the berth in the National Tournament with a hard-fought win over East Georgia State College.  “The Lady Jets’ individual and collective efforts tonight was impressive to say the least.  We are honored to be representing the GCAA and the NJCAA Southeast District at the National Tournament this year.  I feel like we are playing our best basketball right now.”

   The Lady Jets got behind early in the match-up with East Georgia and trailed by as many as seven points before they tied the game at 14 – 14 with 4:37 remaining in the first quarter.  A three-point shot by sophomore Enola Papin with 3:59 on the clock gave the Lady Jets a 17 – 14 lead and they never looked back.

   Papin set a new school record for the most three-pointers in a single season in the game against East Georgia.  She tied the record with 85 in the semi-final round and then came out in the first 30 seconds of the game to sink a three-pointer and break the old record.  Then she hit five more against East Georgia to raise the record to 91 three-pointers in a single season.

   In fact, the Lady Jets were 14 of 34 from the three-point line which accounted for exactly half of their 84 points on the night.  Papin had a total of 21 points and six three-point shots and freshman Kaiya Carter sank five three-pointers to end the night with a total of 18 points.  She also led the team in rebounds with 10 to post a double-double night.

   Sophomore Mio Sakano added three three-pointers of her own and came away with 24 points on the night to lead the team in scoring.  She also had five rebounds and four assists.  Freshman Jamiah Gregory was the only other Lady Jet in double-digits and she had 11 points.

   Freshman Stephanie Salumu contributed six points, five rebounds, two assists and one blocked shot and then freshman Mariia Ignatchenko closed out the scoring with four points.

   The Lady Jets were up 22 – 18 at the end of the first quarter and then stretched their lead to 44 – 30 by the half.  They continued to outscore the Lady Bobcats in the second half and walked away with a hard fought 84 – 61 victory.

   GCAA Executive Director David Elder presented the head coach Jason Carpenter and the Lady Jets with the GCAA and NJCAA Region XVII tournament plaques and also recognized SGTC Lady Jets freshman Jamiah Gregory with the GCAA Player of the Year award for her efforts on the court this season.

   The Lady Jets will tune into the NJCAA Selection Show broadcast on Sunday, March 16 at 6 p.m. to determine their overall ranking going into the national tournament and also find out when and who they will face in the first round.  Sixteen District champion teams plus eight at-large selections will be invited to the national tournament in Casper, Wyoming.

  The South Georgia Technical College Lady Jets (25 – 6) will represent Region 17 and the Southeast District, Eastern Arizona (25-6) will represent Region 1 and the West and Wllace State-Hanceville (AL), 28 – 4 is the Region 22 and South District representative.

   Others who qualified already include:  Walters State (TN) with a 25 – 5 record for the Appalachian District and Region 7; State Fair (MO) 24 – 6 from the Central District and Region 16; Wabash Valley (IL) 30 – 2 qualified for the Midwest District and Region 24 while Monroe Univeristy (NY) captured the Mid-Atlanta District and Region 15 with a 25 – 4 record.  The only other team that has clinched their region currently is Salt Lake (UT) from the Rocky Mountain District and Region 18 with a 21 – 10 overall record.

   The Gulf District, Mid-South, Northwest Plains, Plains, South Atlantic, South Central, and Southwest districts will be determined Saturday, March 15th.