SGTC Lady Jets defeat Albany Tech in NJCAA Region XVII semi-finals

March 6, 2023
Alexia Dizeko, 5, was the top scorer with 21 points for the Lady Jets.
Alexia Dizeko, 5, was the top scorer with 21 points for the Lady Jets.

  The top-ranked South Georgia Technical College Lady Jets took an 84 – 68 victory over Albany Technical College in the National Junior College Athletic Association (NJCAA) Region XVII tournament semi-finals Friday night to advance to the finals against East Georgia State College on Saturday for the right to advance to the Southeast District and NJCAA National Tournament.

   Lady Jets sophomore forward Alexia Dizeko scored 21 points in that game to lead the Lady Jets their 30th consecutive victory and move them to 30 – 1 overall.  She also had six rebounds, four assists and two steals in her 30-minutes on the court.

   The Lady Jets jumped out to a 23 – 9 lead at the end of the first quarter and then stretched that lead to 42 – 24 at the half.  They were up by as many as 22 points in the first half and Albany Tech never lead or tied the game.

   In the second half, the Lady Jets stumped their toe in the third quarter and allowed Albany Tech to outscore them 27 – 21 to close the gap slightly to 63 – 51.  But the Lady Jets regained control in the fourth quarter and went on to take the 84 – 68 win.

   In addition to Alexia Dizeko, Lady Jets sophomore guard Luana Leite tossed in 15 points and sophomore guard Da’Nae Williams accounted for 10 points to close out the double-digit scoring.  Leite also had two rebounds, three assists and one steal.  Williams had three rebounds, and one assist.

   Other Lady Jets scoring against Albany Tech were Camryn James with 9, Maeve Fotsa Fofou and Loes Rozing with seven points each and Fanta Gassama and Laurie Calixte with six points each.  Veronika Palfi closed out the scoring with three points.

   The win allowed the Lady Jets to advance to the NJCAA Region XVII finals against the 24th nationally ranked East Georgia Bobcats at 2 p.m. Saturday.  The Lady Jets are currently ranked 1st in the NJCAA with a 30 – 1 overall record and East Georgia has a 22 – 5 overall performance this season.

   The Lady Jets defeated East Georgia three times this season in conference matchups.  The first game was 86 – 74 followed by 74 – 60 and76 – 52 performances.