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From Staff Reports

AMERICUS – The South Georgia Technical College Lady Jets showed the 12^th ranked Pensacola State College Lady Pirates why they are currently ranked 4^th in the National Junior College Athletic Association (NJCAA) Division 1 women’s basketball rankings with a 68 – 57 win in the precursor game of the Lady Jets Holiday Classic basketball tournament in the Hangar Thursday night.

“I thought we played good, but we still had way too many turnovers,” said South Georgia Technical College Athletic Director and Lady Jets head coach James Frey.  “I was very proud of the intensity that we brought to the game, but we still have lots of room for improvement.”

Four of the top 12 nationally ranked women’s basketball teams are battling it out in the Lady Jets Holiday Classic women’s basketball tournament, December 30^th – January 1^st at the Hangar in Americus, GA.  Top ranked Eastern Florida, second seeded Gulf Coast, the 4^th place Lady Jets and 12^th ranked Pensacola are all appearing in the 10-team tournament this weekend. The other six teams include Chattahoochee Valley Community College, Central Georgia Tech, St. Petersburg College, Shelton State, Tallahassee Community College and Georgia Highlands.

The win over Pensacola allowed the Lady Jets to improve their win streak to 15 straight games and improve their overall record to 15 – 1 and remain 6 – 0 in the Georgia Collegiate Athletic Association (GCAA).  The Lady Jets only loss this season was in the opening game against Gulf Coast, which is currently ranked two spots ahead of them in the NJCAA National Rankings.

Pensacola dropped to 13 – 3 on the season after the loss to South Georgia Tech.  Their other two losses were at the hand of the 15^th ranked Jones College Lady Bobcats earlier in the season.  Jones College is currently 8 – 3 on the season with two losses against Trinity Valley, which was third and first in the nation at the time of the losses. Trinity Valley is currently ranked 6^th in the nation.

Three Lady Jets managed to score in double digits to lead South Georgia Tech to the 11-point victory over Pensacola.  Sophomore center Fanta Gassama fouled out in the fourth quarter but still managed to be the leading scorer with 13 points and also tie as the leading rebounder with nine.  She also had three assists, one blocked shot and one steal.

Sophomore forward Alexia Dizeko was the second leading scorer for the Lady Jets with 12 points and nine rebounds.  She had three assists, a blocked shot and a steal.  Luana Leite, sophomore guard from Brazil, was the other Lady Jet in double digits and she tossed in 11 points, had three rebounds, three assists and two steals.

Sophomore guard Loes Rozing came away with nine points and five rebounds and Camryn James and Susanna Yepes both contributed eight points. James also had six rebounds, two assists and a steal.   Sophomore point guard DaNae Williams accounted for five points and Laurie Calixte closed out the scoring with two points.

Gabriela Bendeck-Giron and Brianna Lopez were the only Pensacola players to break into double digits and they both led the Lady Pirates in scoring with 11 points each.

The Lady Jets scored first in the contest and was up 17 – 16 at the end of the first quarter.  They stretched that lead to five points 30 – 25 at the half.  There were two lead changes and three ties in the first half.  South Georgia Tech came out in the second half and stretched their lead to 14 points before taking the final 68 – 57 victory.

The Lady Jets Holiday Class officially kicks off on today, Friday, December 30^th at 1 p.m. with the NJCAA second ranked Gulf Coast Community College squad facing off against Chattahoochee Valley Community College. That game will be followed by Central Georgia Tech vs. St. Petersburg College at 3 p.m. and 12^th seeded Pensacola State College facing the top ranked Eastern Florida team at 5 p.m.  Shelton State and Tallahassee Community College will play at 7 p.m.

On Saturday, December 31^st, Gulf Coast will open again against St. Petersburg College with an 11 a.m. game.  Chattahoochee Valley and Eastern Florida will matchup at 1 p.m. and Central Georgia Tech will take on Shelton State at 3 p.m.  The SGTC Lady Jets will take on Tallahassee Community College at 5 p.m. on New Year’s Eve.

The tournament will wrap-up on New Year’s Day, Sunday, January 1^st with Tallahassee Community College and St. Petersburg College taking the court at 11 a.m.  Shelton State will face the top-ranked Eastern Florida team at 1 p.m. followed by Gulf Coast and Georgia Highlands at 3 p.m.  South Georgia Tech and Chattahoochee Valley Community College will have the last game of the tournament at 5 p.m.