SGTC sweeps opponents in Lady Jets Tip-off Classic
Published 10:42 am Wednesday, November 9, 2016
From STAFF REPORTS
AMERICUS – The South Georgia Technical College (SGTC) Lady Jets walked off with two impressive wins in the SGTC Lady Jets Tip-Off Classic basketball tournament held in Americus this past weekend. The Lady Jets, now 3-0, are enjoying a National Junior College Athletic Association (NJCAA) honorable mention ranking in the NJCAA pre-season women’s basketball poll.
The Lady Jets opened the tournament with an 83-54 win over IMG Academy from Bradenton, FL, on Saturday and then came back on Sunday to defeat Denmark Technical College from Denmark, SC, 93-54. In the other tournament matches, Albany Tech defeated Denmark Tech 56-52 and IMG Academy came from behind to defeat Albany Tech 59-55.
“We looked much better this weekend but we still have a long way to go,” said SGTC Athletic Director and Lady Jets head coach, James Frey. “We had the opportunity to give everybody some quality playing time and this allows us to see what and where we need to focus on between now and our conference games.”
When facing IMG Academy on Saturday, SGTC and fell behind 15-13 at the end of the first quarter. The Lady Jets came back in the second quarter to take a 42-25 lead and they never looked back as they coasted to the 83-54 victory.
Esther Adenike came off the bench to lead the Lady Jets in scoring with 16 points. The freshman forward hit eight of 14 shots from the field and had 12 rebounds as well as one assist and one steal. Three other Lady Jets also scored in double figures. Sophomore transfers Desiree Corbin and Camille Coleman, had 13 points and 11 points, respectively. Returning sophomore guard, La’Deja James, rounded out the double digit scoring with 10 points.
In the second game of the tournament, Adenike came off the bench again to lead the Lady Jets in scoring with 17 points. She nailed seven of 11 attempts from the field and three of four from the foul line. She also had 11 rebounds.
Five other Lady Jets posted double-digit scores in that game as well. James and freshman forward, Houlfat Mahouchiza, both added 13 points. Mahouchiza had 11 rebounds while James pulled down four, also contributing four assists and two steals.
Corbin, who played her freshman year at Darton, had 12 points on the night and 13 rebounds, one assist, one steal, and five blocked shots. Camille Coleman and Marina Balguer both added 11 points. Coleman contributed eight rebounds, two assists, and five steals.
The GCAA returning regular season champion Lady Jets have the opportunity to play at home again this coming weekend. They are hosting a Lady Jets Classic Tournament on Nov. 12-13.
The SGTC ladies will take on Cape Fear at 6:00 p.m. on Nov. 12 and Denmark Tech again on Nov. 13 at 3:00 p.m.
The team will travel to Gainesville, FL and Wadley, AL on Nov. 19 and 22, before returning home for the Lady Jets Thanksgiving Classic on Nov. 26-27. The Lady Jets will play Motlow State at 6:00 p.m. on Nov. 26 and Pensacola State at 6 p.m. on Nov. 27.