South Georgia Tech Lady Jets ranked 11th in nation in defense

South Georgia Tech Lady Jets ranked 11th in nation in defense

The 2012 GJCAA regular season champion South Georgia Technical College’s Lady Jets continued to receive votes to be included in the National Junior College Athletic Association (NJCAA) Top 20 National poll this week but couldn’t crack into the actual poll. However, they did move up one position into 11th place in the NJCAA team defensive category and stayed at 24th in the nation in team field goal percentage shooting.

This is the sixth consecutive week that the South Georgia Technical College Lady Jets have been ranked in the top 25 in the nation in defense. They moved up one spot into 11th place in team defense based on their 50.310 points allowed each game. The Lady Jets have only given up 1459 points in 29 games this season. Monroe Community College is leading the nation with a 42.739 average.

Darton College, who South Georgia Technical College defeated twice this season to clinch the GJCAA regular season conference title, is currently ranked ahead of the Lady Jets in defense in sixth place with a 48.037 points per game allowed average.

The South Georgia Technical College Lady Jets also remained in the top 25 ranking in team field goal percentage shooting in the NJCAA for the third week in a row. They are listed with the 24th best team field goal percentage shooting average this season. The have made 716 field goals in 1676 attempts for a 43% shot success rate. Darton is ranked 20th with a 43% shot completion rate. They have made 715 baskets in 1667 attempts.

In addition to the team defensive national ranking and field goal percentage shooting, South Georgia Technical College Lady Jets sophomore Shontae McCall remained ranked nationally in four different individual categories including individual scoring, steals, assists, and rebounds. Her teammate, Manon Cherubini also received an individual national ranking in three point percentage shooting.

McCall, a 6’1” sophomore from Haney Technical School in Lynn Haven, FL, is currently ranked 14th in the nation in assists. She has 174 assists in 29 games for an average of six per game. She is also ranked 21st in the nation in rebounding. She is averaging 10.276 rebounds each game. She has 99 offensive and 199 defensive for a total of 298 rebounds in 29 games.

The other two categories that McCall was listed as a leader in were individual scoring and steals. She is ranked 36th in the nation in both categories. In individual scoring, McCall is currently averaging 16.966 points per game through 29 games. She has scored a total of 492 points this season. In the steal leader’s category, she has stolen the basketball 90 times in 29 games for a 3.103 per game average.

Manon Cherubini, the 6’ 0” freshman guard from St. Chamond, France, was the other Lady Jet to receive a national ranking. She is 38th in the nation in three point field goal percentage shooting. She is currently making 39% of her three point shots. She is 47 of 120 in 29 games. She is the leading three point percentage shooter in the Georgia Collegiate Athletic Association and the 11th best field goal percentage shooter.

McCall almost dominates the individual statistics in the GCAA. She is ranked first in assists as well as fifth in individual scoring, fourth in overall field goal percentage shooting, fourth in rebounding, fifth in free throw percentage shooting, and seventh in steals.

Shanique Holston, Kayla Ritchie, Samantha Phillips, and Inna Leja are the other Lady Jets listed as leaders in the GCAA in different categories.

Holston a 5’ 11” freshman from Taylor County High School in Reynolds, GA, is ranked second in overall field goal percentage shooting with a 53% success rate. She is 171 of 334 in field goal shooting. She is also sixth in the GCAA in scoring with an average of 15.6 points per game this season and 14th in the state in rebounding with an average of 7.6 per game.

Samantha Phillips, Kayla Ritchie and Inna Leja are also included in the GCAA individual statistics. Phillips is third in three point percentage shooting at 34%. Leja is ranked eighth in the state in assists with 4.1 per game and Richie is ranked tenth in the state in assists with 3.9 per game

The Lady Jets will travel to Savannah on Friday at 5 p.m. to take on Middle Georgia College in the semi-finals of the GCAA Region XVII Tournament at Armstrong Atlantic State University. The winner of that game will advance to the finals on Saturday at 1 p.m. against the winner of the Darton – Georgia Perimeter game.
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Photo: South Georgia Tech’s Shontae McCall (12) and Manon Cherubini (21) are both ranked nationally in individual categories in the National Junior College Athletic Association.