Lady Jets remain ranked 14th in the NJCAA Division I standings
The South Georgia Technical College Lady Jets remain ranked 14th in the National Junior College Athletic Association (NJCAA) Division I women’s basketball rankings this week after posting four consecutive conference wins against tough Georgia Collegiate Athletic Association Conference (GCAA) foes. The Lady Jets are now 18 – 3 overall and 10 – 0 in the GCAA Division I standings.
The Lady Jets dropped two of their three losses this season to nationally ranked teams in the Lady Jets Holiday Classic tournament on the Americus campus in late December. The Lady Jets have played 21 games and are averaging 69.4 points per game while holding their opponents to an average of 55 per game. The Lady Jets are the only unbeaten team in the conference.
“We are not scoring like we need to,” said South Georgia Technical College Athletic Director and Lady Jets head basketball coach James Frey. “We have got to learn to play our game against tough opponents. We need to continue to work and cut down on our mistakes and do a better job of shooting the basketball if we want to continue to win and have a chance to win the conference and return to the National Tournament again this year.”
Shelton State remained in the top spot in the NJCAA January 17th, 2018 poll. They were followed by New Mexico, Gulf Coast State, Tallahassee, and North West Florida State for the top five rankings. Jones County, MS; Moberly Area, MO; Trinity Valley, TX; Wabash Valley, IL, and Salt Lake, UT; filled the next five positions followed by Frank Phillips, TX; Pensacola State, FL; Seward County, KS; South Georgia Tech, and Collin County, TX. South Georgia Tech is the only team from Georgia currently ranked in the women’s top 25 national standings.
In addition to the national team ranking, two of the Lady Jets are included in the individual rankings nationally. Sophomore Esther Adenike, 6’ 2” forward from Nigeria, and Houlfat Mahouchiza, a 6’ 1” forward from France, were both included in the individual rankings nationally.
Adenike is currently the second best rebounder in the nation with a total of 233 this season. She moved up one spot from third place. The top rebounder in the nation has 274. Adenike also moved up four positions to 9th in rebounds per game with an average of 11.1 per game. The leader averages 14.4 per game. Adenike is 19th in defensive rebounds with an average of 6.6 and 16th in offensive rebounds per game with an average of 4.4.
Her teammate, Houlfat Mahouchiza, is currently ranked 20th in total rebounds this season with 170, and 22nd in the nation in blocked shots per game. She is averaging blocking two shots each outing. She is also shooting 81.5% from foul line and is ranked 40th in the nation in that category.
The SGTC Jets had two players included in the NJCAA individual rankings. Sophomore Marquel Wiggins of Oglethorpe, GA, returned for the fourthconsecutive week and Rico Simmons has now been ranked for the second week in a row.
Wiggins moved up one spot into 5th in the nation in offensive rebounds per game. The 6’ 6” forward is averaging 4.7 offensive rebounds per game. He has a total of 181 rebounds this season which put him at 14th in the nation in total number of rebounds. He is ranked 21st in total rebounds per game with an average of 10.1. He is also listed as 31st in the nation in total points scored this season with 330. He has played and started in all 18 games for the Jets this season.
Rico Simmons, a sophomore point guard from Wilkinson County, moved up two spots into 39th in total points scored in the nation. He has scored 322 points this season. He has started and played in all 18 of the Jets games. The top scorer in the nation has 480 points in 18 games.
South Georgia Tech’s Lady Jets will travel to Warner Robins on Saturday to take on the second place Central Georgia Technical College Lady Titans at 2 p.m. at their Warner Robins gym. Central Georgia is 5 – 3 in conference play. The top-ranked Jets will travel to Waycross to take on fourth seeded South Georgia State squad. The Jets are 11 – 7 overall and 4 – 1 in the conference. Gordon College and Georgia Highlands are tied for second place at 2 – 1 and South Georgia State is tied with three other teams with a 2 – 2 conference record.
The two teams will return home to host Albany Technical College in a double-header on Wednesday, January 24th. The Lady Jets open at 5:30 and the Jets will follow with a 7:30 tip-off. The Jets will travel to Barnesville on Saturday, January 27th to face Gordon and then the two teams return home for another doubleheader on Wednesday, January 31st against East Georgia State College. The women open at 5:30 and the men follow at 7:30 p.m.