SGTC guard Anna McKendree signs with Nicholls State
Published 5:03 pm Wednesday, April 15, 2020
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From Staff Reports
AMERICUS – South Georgia Technical College (SGTC) sophomore guard Anna McKendree has announced that she plans to continue her athletic and academic career at Nicholls State University, an NCAA Division 1 school in Thibodaux, LA.
“I am so proud of Anna and the other sophomores from the 2019-2020 Lady Jets women’s basketball season,” said SGTC Lady Jets head coach James Frey. “Anna chose to come play junior college basketball at South Georgia Technical College to improve her level of play and she trusted it would all work out. Today, that trust was rewarded.”
Frey went on to say that he wishes he had 10 more players like McKendree on his team. “She (McKendree) is an awesome player and person. I am going to miss her more than she knows. And I appreciate her for trusting us for her freshman and sophomore seasons,” Frey continued.
McKendree, a 5’ 6” sophomore guard from Flowery Branch, GA, helped lead the Lady Jets to back to back Georgia Collegiate Athletic Association (GCAA) regular season titles, as well as back to back National Junior College Athletic Association (NJCAA) Region XVII Tournament wins and NJCAA District J championships. This marked the fifth consecutive GCAA title for SGTC and the fourth straight NJCAA Region XVII and District J victories. The 2019 – 2020 team also earned the right to advance to the NJCAA National Tournament in Lubbock, TX this year prior to the tournament’s cancellation due to the COVID-19 pandemic.
“First of all, I would like to thank the man above for giving me the opportunity to play the game I love,” said McKendree. “I would also like to thank my family, friends, teammates, and coaches because without them, I wouldn’t be where I am today. Thank you to the Jets program for helping me improve my craft and love for the game. The past two seasons at South Georgia Technical College have been special in every way.”
McKendree added that she is very blessed to announce that she will be continuing her academic and athletic career at Nicholls State University. NSU was established in 1948 and has about 6,366 students.
The NSU women’s basketball team qualified for the Southland Conference Tournament this year after reeling off seven consecutive wins to close out their regular season. The Lady Colonels were 13 – 16 overall and 10 – 10 in the Southland Conference prior to the tournament’s cancellation due to COVID-19. This was the 12th time in NSU history that the Lady Colonels have advanced to the tournament.
McKendree helped lead the Lady Jets to SGTC’s best overall record for men’s and women’s teams (30 – 2) and back to back undefeated GCAA records. The Lady Jets were 18 – 0 during McKendree’s freshman season and 17 – 0 during her sophomore year. The Lady Jets finished this past season ranked 11th in the nation.
McKendree was a member of the GCAA All-Academic team as a sophomore. And averaged 13.3 points per game for the Lady Jets this season. She hit 67 percent of her free throws and 42 percent of her three-point attempts. McKendree also averaged 4.4 rebounds per game, 3.2 assists per game and 3.4 steals per game.
McKendree is the third of six sophomores from the Lady Jets 2019 – 2020 squad to sign with a Division 1 team. Shamari Tyson and Yasriyyah Wazeerud-Din both announced earlier this month that they were committing to Stetson University in Deland, FL.