Lady Chargers guard, Jashanti Simmons, has committed to Troy University for the 2022-2023 basketball season.

Simmons will take the floor for a second season at Georgia Highlands with a boost of confidence.

After all, not everybody gets to say that they were the GCAA player of the year, especially during the COVID-19 pandemic.

“I’ve known that I wanted to play basketball since I was four years old,” said Simmons in her interview on the Post Buzzer Podcast on Sept. 30.

Over the next decade, Simmons worked on her skills. By the time she was a sophomore at Putnam High School, she led the War Eagles in points, assists, steals and blocks. The War Eagles would make the state playoffs, but lose in the first round to the Model Blue Devils.

Simmons would post better numbers the following season, but again the War Eagles would lose in the first round of the state playoffs – this time to the Elbert County Blue Devils.

Her senior season, Simmons led the War Eagles to a 23-5 record, picking up their first playoff win in three years. Simmons stepped up and posted a double-double, scoring 22 points and grabbing 10 rebounds in the contest.

That would be the first and only playoff win of Simmons’ high school career.

Her performance that season was good enough to net her the Region 8AA MVP, averaging 22 points per game to go along with five steals per game.

Simmons ended her high school career with over 1,500 points, something that she said she sees as her biggest accomplishment.
Three months after her second-round playoff loss, Simmons made the decision to join Head Coach Brandan Harrell and assistant coach Nae Nae Saxton.

“Coming out of high school, I didn’t get any big offers or people looking at me. Georgia Highlands stood out to me with the basketball program,” Simmons said.

The guard from Eatonton, Georgia came to Georgia Highlands last year for her first step into collegiate basketball and wasted no time making an impact for the Lady Chargers by leading them in points in her first game, with 17.

Simmons would go on to have a remarkable freshman campaign for the Lady Chargers, leading the team in points and steals.

The Lady Chargers would go on to win 19 of their 21 regular season games, winning the regular season region title and home court advantage in the NJCAA region 17 tournament, even getting as high as 13 in the NJCAA national rankings.

After an overtime loss in the region 17 tournament to South Georgia Technical College, Simmons and the rest of the Lady Chargers waited on selection day to see if they had proved themselves worthy of participating in the NJCAA national tournament.

As the selections were being made and matchups being set up, the Lady Chargers heard their school’s name called, clinching the 13 seed and being matched up against the Southern Idaho Golden Eagles.

Simmons stepped up again by leading the Lady Chargers in scoring with 16 points, but most importantly, a win.

“[the win] felt great, even though we lost our second game of the tournament,” Simmons said.

The awards came pouring in for Simmons after that, winning the GCAA freshman of the year award, that was quickly overshadowed when she was announced the 2021 GCAA player of the year.

Simmons had a tough decision to make as the offers came over the summer. Three offers stood out to her: Georgia Southern, Austin Peavy and Troy.

After a long time of thinking about where she would continue her collegiate basketball career, Simmons chose Troy University.

“I wanted to go somewhere I was respected and had a great scholarship where players graduated on time,” said Simmons.

Simmons will be joining the Lady Chargers for the 2021-2022 season as she prepares herself for the competition that she will be facing at Troy.

While she is excited about joining Troy next year, Simmons spoke highly of the coaching staff at GHC, “The relationship with the players and coaches have been great. We have our ups and downs, but at the end of the day, it’s all love,” said Simmons

In what I see was a much-needed strategy to end the COVID-19 pandemic, President Joe Biden announced a slew of new requirements for businesses and federal-level employees.

The new requirement will mandate that all federal employees in the executive branch of government and any contractor doing business with the federal government be vaccinated.

The new requirements also gives employers with over 100 employees the option to either vaccinate all employees or test them weekly.

I personally think this will be the most effective strategy to end the pandemic because it covers an estimated 80 million Americans.

Healthcare workers — which I feel should have had the vaccine mandated for a while now — will be required to be vaccinated if they work in facilities that receive Medicare and Medicaid.
These actions are necessary to finally put an end to this pandemic so that we can go on with our daily lives.

The people that want the pandemic to end, and have taken all the possible steps to do so, are being deprived due to people that feel safety restrictions take away freedom. This sounds asinine to me because I feel that it is the government’s job to look out for public safety concerns.

According to Floyd Medical Center in Rome, 74 patients were in the hospital for COVID-19 on Sept. 27, with only one of them being vaccinated and 39 on critical respiratory support.

The percentage of patients positive with COVID-19 in the hospital at Floyd Medical Center that are vaccinated is 6.3 percent, which is enough evidence for anyone to claim that the vaccine exponentially decreases your chances of getting the virus and dying from the virus.

For everyone that has put effort into returning to normalcy by getting vaccinated, I thank you for your part in making sure that this pandemic ends.

With nearly thirty years under his belt, Georgia Highlands athletic director, David Mathis, has retired. Longtime women’s basketball coach, Brandan Harrell, will now head the athletic department.

Mathis has been involved with GHC for almost thirty years. In his time at GHC, Mathis has received multiple awards for his role in the community. These awards include: the 2002 Vivian Benton Staff Person of the Year, Floyd County School’s Business Partner of the Year in 2005, the Georgia Highlands College President’s Meritorious Service Award in 2014, the 2017 Heart of the Community Award and induction into the Rome/Floyd County Sports Hall of Fame in 2019.

Men’s basketball head coach, JJ Merritt, was appointed by Mathis in 2019 as Mathis’ first move as athletic director. Merritt said, “It’s going to be hard not having him around, he was like a mentor to me, but I’m happy for him because he gets to go live his life.”

“It’s going to be tough, David is one of those really good guys that always seems to know what to say and what to do in those tough situations,” said Harrell.

The impact doesn’t stop there. Faculty outside of the athletics department will also miss Mathis. Margaret Davis, professor of statistics, said, “Oh David, who will I go to when a basketball player does not show up in my class? We will all miss you, David.”

“The thing that I’m going to miss the most is the relationships. We’re fortunate that Georgia Highlands has some of the best people in the world that have a passion for doing everything the right way,” said Mathis.

Leaving the school with one final message for the student body, Mathis said, “[Students] are in the best place that they could be. At Georgia Highlands, the faculty and staff are dedicated to seeing their journey and making it successful.”

After a shortened 23 game season in 2020, when the GHC Lady Chargers softball team went 12-11 with a .522 winning percentage, fans hoped for a similar track this year.

As of April 19, the Lady Chargers were 11-18 on the season and their .379 win percentage is their lowest since 2016.
“The team has experienced a lot this season,” said Head Softball Coach Savannah Sloan.

“At the start of the season, we had to go into a full team quarantine for the first time. During this quarantine, we had another athlete test positive.

“The team was scheduled to come out of quarantine just in time to make our first trip of the season to Clearwater, FL. While most of the team was able to go, one apartment had to stay behind and finish an extended quarantine. Once the final quarantine ended, integrating the ones who missed the Florida trip was harder than expected. They felt as though they were behind, so at first, they were pressing too hard.”

The Lady Chargers showed promise early in the season, starting 4-2, but that quickly turned when they lost eight of their next nine games.

Sloan said, “Very early we found out that all our Tennessee dates that we scheduled to play would have to be canceled… I began looking for other schools with availability to play, but I was only able to pick up one or two in place of the six that we lost. This made it hard to get into a rhythm as a team.”

As of April 19, the Lady Chargers were ranked below 100 in 15 of the 25 team stats by the NJCAA. Their highest statistical standing, in opponent batting average, ranked 25. Their lowest statistical standing, in on base percentage, ranked 143.

“We have been able to catch a solid rhythm recently,” said Sloan. “The season is coming to an end, so as a coach, I am glad to be hitting our stride in this moment.”

As of April 19, freshman infielders Madison Bennett and Izzy Marcotte are the only two players to play in every game for the Lady Chargers this season.

Bennett led the team with 98 at bats, while also leading the team in hits, with 31. Her 13 stolen bases were the most on the team, 10 more than the next person on the team. Bennett is also second on the team in runs, with 25, and doubles, with six.

“Madison Bennett and Izzy Marcotte have been a very vital part of our lineup. What is making them successful is their consistency. Neither of them gets too high or too low in any situation. They don’t take the game too seriously,” said Sloan.

Marcotte is the only person with more runs than Bennett, with 31. Her nine home runs are four more than the next closest player on the team. Marcotte leads the team in runs batted in, with 26, with no other Lady Charger having more than 16.

As of April 19, freshman infielder, Hailey Chronic, led the team in batting average, with .412.
Her on base percentage of .455 is the second-best on the team, trailing only Marcotte.

Freshmen infielders, Natalia Herrera and Lacey Rutledge, have had success as well, with both having 16 runs batted in, tied for second on the team.

Herrera was second on the team in home runs, with five, and Rutledge led the team in doubles, with six.
As of April 19, freshman pitcher, Montana Ledbetter, has started the most games for the Lady Chargers, with 12.

Ledbetter is the only pitcher with a winning record on the team, sitting at 6-4 on the season. Her 81 strikeouts are the most on the team, and her 3.91 ERA is second best, trailing only fellow freshman pitcher, Madalyn Morton, who has a 3.42 ERA.

Morton leads the team in innings pitched, with 69.2. While Morton has a 4-6 record on the season, she has allowed the fewest runs.

While the Lady Chargers sit at 11-18 as of April 19, the team still has some upside to it and plenty to look forward to next season.

Sloan said, “…softball is a sport that you must play. It is not a job.”
Many of the girls are beginning to grasp this concept, and our lineup is coming together. Our bench is deep, as well, meaning no matter who is in the lineup, they can get the job done.”

“We are looking to finish out a great season, and shooting for Nationals,” said Sloan.

The 91st annual Major League Baseball (MLB) All-Star Game was planned to be held at Truist Park, the home of the Atlanta Braves, but that all changed on April 2 when MLB commissioner, Robert Manfred, announced they would be moving the All-Star Game due to new voting laws in the state of Georgia.

I think the MLB made the right decision on behalf of the players to move the All-Star Game out of Atlanta.
Manfred released a statement that said, “Over the last week, we have engaged in thoughtful conversations with clubs, former and current players, the Players Association, and The Players Alliance, among others, to listen to their views. I have decided that the best way to demonstrate our values as a sport is by relocating this year’s All-Star Game and MLB Draft.”

“Major League Baseball fundamentally supports voting rights for all Americans and opposes restrictions to the ballot box. In 2020, MLB became the first professional sports league to join the non-partisan Civic Alliance to help build a future in which everyone participates in shaping the United States,” said Manfred.

“We proudly used our platform to encourage baseball fans and communities throughout our country to perform their civic duty and actively participate in the voting process. Fair access to voting continues to have our game’s unwavering support,” said Manfred.

If the MLB feels that their players are not comfortable playing in the city, then they shouldn’t be forced to.
The new wave of Georgia voting laws that went into effect on March 25 has been met with controversy, with many prominent people within the media calling the bill “Jim Crow 2.0.” The new law tightens voting restrictions. The people affected most by the new laws are African Americans.

The counties that seem to be most affected by the new voting laws would be the most condensed ones, which are also African American majority counties such as Cobb, DeKalb and Fulton.

With the All-Star Game now being moved, sports fans will not have to worry about players choosing to sit out because they do not agree with the new voting law, so moving it will not diminish the overall quality of the game itself.

Hopefully, other professional sports leagues can look at the action from the MLB as an example to follow. This might encourage others to have open conversations with players and ask them whether or not they are comfortable participating in these events in the future.

In my opinion, the statement put out by the MLB was courageous. They showed that sometimes there are things that are bigger than sports, and with the whole country watching them, I can personally say that I agree with the action. I hope other leagues follow suit.

On March 16, The Lady Chargers women’s basketball team was able to beat Central Georgia Technical College 80-46, while the men’s basketball team won their matchup against East Georgia State College 85-82. Both teams remain atop their division with the regular season winding down.

Led by great defense, the Lady Chargers extend their winning streak to seven and remain in first place in their division. The win was a crucial one for the Lady Chargers as they tried to fend off South Georgia Technical College for the top spot in the GCAA Tournament.

The Chargers were able to start on a hot streak, leading 25-4 at the end of the first quarter. Sophomore Forward Sasha Shishkina scored 11 of the Lady Chargers 24 points in the quarter. Rasheka Simmons was able to grab five rebounds in the quarter to help the Lady Chargers get off to their fast start. As a team, they were able to limit Central Georgia Technical College to just two made field goals while also forcing ten turnovers in the quarter.

Central Georgia Technical College outscored the Lady Chargers 20-16 in the second quarter, but it was not enough to come back against the Lady Chargers. At halftime, the Lady Chargers led 41-24.

Sophomore Guard ShaoTung Lin had four assists in the third quarter to help bring the Lady Chargers lead up to 27 points by the end of the quarter, leading 65-38 going into the fourth quarter. As the fourth quarter winded down, the Lady Chargers were again able to build on their lead, outscoring Central Georgia Technical College 15-8 in the final quarter.

Lin stood out in the game, finishing with eight rebounds and eight assists, nearly getting a double-double in the contest.

At the end of the game, the Lady Chargers out rebounded Central Georgia Technical College 46-31.

After the women’s game ended, it was time for the men’s basketball team to take the court against East Georgia State College.

The Chargers were able to outscore East Georgia State College by one point at halftime, leading 37-36. Sophomore guard, Jarred Rosser, was able to shine for the Chargers in the first half, scoring ten points. Sophomore forward, Langston Wilson, was also able to contribute to the lead with six points to go along with three blocks and three rebounds.

The Chargers tried to pull away in the second half but were unable to build a sizable lead. Wilson continued his performance in the second half, putting up eight points and five rebounds. Sophomore forward, Cahiem Brown, scored nine points in the second half to help the Chargers pull away.
East Georgia State College was able to keep the game close and almost tied the game at the buzzer, but a last second, three point shot attempt did not go in. The Chargers won the game by three points.

The Chargers outscored East Georgia State College 47-45 in the second half. As a team, they accumulated 19 assists, which was 12 more than East Georgia State College had in the game.

Since organized sports were established, female athletes have tried to find where they stand in the world of sports. While people have a variety of views about women in sports, we can not ignore what some female athletes have accomplished.

Serena Williams is perhaps the most dominant female athlete of all time. She has set the standard for the modern saying “play like a girl.” Williams started playing tennis professionally in 1995 at the age of 16 and then became a household name in the early 2000s.

Williams has dominated women’s tennis this century, winning 23 singles titles. The second most of any tennis player ever, she is just one title short of tying with fellow women’s tennis player, Margaret Court. Williams has won four olympic gold medals.

Billie Jean King has played a huge role in women’s sports as an athlete and an activist. King participated in many equality campaigns in the 1960s and 70s that dealt with women’s issues, such as the pay gap of women athletes compared to their male counterparts. Perhaps her greatest achievement is the campaigning that she did for the passage of Title IX, legislation that gave woman athletes legal protection from discrimination and equal oppurtunities as male athletes.

On the court, King was able to win a total of 39 Grand Slam titles and reached a number one ranking as a tennis player. One of her biggest accomplishments came in 1973, when she split matches with male tennis player Bobby Riggs.

Diana Taurasi is regarded by some as the greatest WNBA player of all time. It makes sense, considering that she is the WNBA’s all time leading scorer. Taurasi was able to get two National Championships with the Connecticut Huskies, a WNBA title three times with the Phoenix Mercury, and win four Olympic Gold medals during her basketball career. Former NBA star Kobe Bryant gave Taurasi the nickname “White Mamba,” a spin off of his “Black Mamba” nickname he had while in the NBA.

Babe Didrikson is often regarded as the first female athlete to prove that women can “hang with the boys.” Babe excelled in every sport she played in in the early 20th century. In fact, she was named the Greatest Female Athlete of the first half of the 20th century by the Associated Press. Didrikson won a gold medal in the first ever javelin Olympic event in 1932. She was also the first woman to ever play in a PGA event when she competed in the 1938 Los Angeles Open.

Ronda Rousey became the first American to win a medal in Judo at the 2008 Summer Olympics. She burst onto the UFC scene in 2012, becoming the first female to ever sign with the company. Rousey was given the UFC Women’s Bantamweight Championship, defending it six consecutive times before losing her title to Holly Holm. Rousey inspired girls and women everywhere during her time with UFC, showing what it meant to “fight like a girl.” In 2018, she became the first woman inducted into the UFC Hall of Fame.

Pat Summit is regarded by many to be the best college basketball coach of all time for men and women. Summit has earned that right, having countless accolades throughout her coaching career that spanned over four decades.

Summit has the third most wins in women’s college basketball history, with 1,098. Summit was able to accumulate eight National Championships while at the University of Tennessee. In 2012, she was given the Presidential Medal of Freedom by then-President Barack Obama. She is also part of the inaugural class for the Women’s Basketball Hall of Fame that was created in 1999.

Brittney Griner could have been the first female to play in the NBA, given how dominant she was at Baylor University in college. She is the only player — male or female — to accumulate 2,000 career points and 500 blocked shots. Griner’s highlight reel remains impressive. She was able to throw down 18 dunks in her college years, the most of anyone in NCAA women’s basketball history.

Sheryl Swoopes was the first player to ever sign a contract to play for a WNBA team when the league was founded in 1996. Swoopes would go on to accumulate many accolades in the WNBA, such as winning the first four WNBA Championships with the Houston Comets and being named an all star six times between 1999 and 2006. She went on to win three olympic gold medals with Team USA in 1996, 2000 and 2004.

Swoopes was the first woman to get a shoe deal with Nike, calling them the Air “Swoopes.” In 2005, Swoopes announced she was gay, making her one of the most high profile athletes to come out. She would go on to be inducted into both the Basketball Hall of Fame and the Women’s Basketball Hall of Fame.

Cheryl Miller is known by many as the sister of 90s NBA star Reggie Miller, but Cheryl could make the argument that she was even better than her brother. She was regarded as the best female high school basketball player ever when she played, leading her team to a 132-4 record over her four years. In college, she dominated as well with the USC Trojans.

Cheryl would go on to be named an All-American all four years of her college tenure and led the Trojans to two National Championships. While at USC, she won three Naismith College Player of the Year awards.

Since the WNBA was not founded until 1996, Cheryl bounced around men’s basketball leagues, including the United States Basketball League, before retiring in 1986. She is still regarded by some as the best college basketball player ever.

Simone Biles became a household name in 2016 when she won four gold medals and a bronze medal as a part of the USA gymnastics team. At the age of 19, Biles competed in her first Olympic competition. Her five medals are the third most by an American in women’s gymnastics, needing only three more to pass Shannon Miller for the most.

Biles has appeared in numerous commercials since her debut and has been praised for her success. She is considered an icon within the African American community for showing young African American girls that anything is possible if you put your mind to it.

With a strong first quarter and 18 game points by freshman Jashanti Simmons, the Lady Chargers beat the East Georgia State College Lady Bobcats 69-58, growing their four-game winning streak, Thursday night at the Corral in Rome.

After dropping their first game of the season, the Lady Chargers have now won their last four contests and will be in action again tomorrow night as they take on East Georgia State again in an away game.

The Lady Chargers wasted no time building a solid lead against the Lady Bobcats, ending the first quarter with 17-9 on the board. The second quarter proved to be much different, as the Lady Bobcats took a 31-29 lead going into halftime.

The Lady Chargers pulled away from the Lady Bobcats in a strong second half, winning 69-48 with a noteworthy 48 points in the paint compared to the Lady Bobcats’ 20.

Freshman guard, Jashanti Simmons, led the Lady Chargers in scoring with 18 points, eight of which came in the fourth quarter to help close the game out. Simmons also grabbed 10 rebounds and three steals.

Crystal Corley, a freshman forward, had a standout performance coming off the bench, putting up her first double-double with 12 points and led the team’s 11 rebounds.

The Lady Chargers had 15 assists in the game, six of which came from sophomore point guard ShaoTung Lin. Lin was a defensive leader in the game, racking up five steals.

After being out-rebounded by 20-12 in the first half, Lady Chargers head coach, Brandan Harrell, told the team, “Even out the rebounds and keep up the defensive energy.”

At the end of the second half, the Lady Chargers trailed by one rebound when the final buzzer went off.

Harrell said the Lady Charger’s defensive performance wasn’t picture perfect but holding them to 58 points gave them a good chance to win and the defense managed 29 turnovers in the game.

The Lady Chargers scored 20 more points off turnovers than their opponent.

Harrell said, “[This game was a] huge conference win to keep our winning streak going.”

After a grueling 11-month offseason, the Lady Chargers started their season on Jan. 21. The offseason was riddled with questions about whether there would even be a basketball season due to safety concerns about COVID-19, but in the end, the Lady Chargers are getting their basketball season.

They have played three games so far and are at 2-1. After falling to Chipola College in their season opener, the Lady Chargers have won their last two games against Pensacola State College and New Horizon Prep.

Head Coach Brandan Harrell described the offseason as being “weird,” because, “After doing the same thing for 17 years, this year is definitely different. We are all having to adapt and figure out a new formula, but the players have handled the adversity like champs.”

Coach Harrell is entering his ninth season as head coach for the Lady Chargers, compiling a coaching record of 171-90 at GHC. Harrell was able to lead the Chargers to the GCAA Finals game last season before losing to South Georgia Technical College.

Incoming freshman, Jashanti Simmons, says that if she could sum up the offseason in one word, it would be, “Motivational. Because when we all started, we were always giving each other words of encouragement and lifting up each other.”

So far this season, Simmons leads the team, having scored 20 points per game. Forward Sasha Shishkina is close behind, averaging 18.3 points per game. O’Mariyah Tucker and Jameah Alston are tied for the team’s leading rebounder spot, with 5.3 for each of them. Starting point guard ShaoTung Lin leads the team with nine assists per game and has been able to average three steals per game as well.

The top four scorers on Harrell’s team last season are no longer with the team, but ShaoTung Lin, O’Mariyah Tucker and Sasha Shishkina are all returning after playing significant roles in the team last season.

Tucker says that this year’s team’s biggest strength is, “Our ability to shoot the ball and score,” and that the team’s biggest challenge coming into the season is, “Working together and being a bunch of individuals on the court.”

Coach Harrell’s personal goal for the season is, “For each player to play at their highest level and to get the most out of each of them.”

“I’m excited for the chance to see these girls play,” said Harrell, “There are a lot of kids that won’t get that chance.”

When the buzzer sounded at the end of the Lady Chargers game against New Horizon Prep Saturday night, the scoreboard read 96-49 in favor of the Lady Chargers. This was their second win in the young season, and their last game before they start conference play.

Top Performers
Sasha Shishkina was there to provide big baskets throughout the game, making seven of the eleven shots that she took. She shot a 3-pointer at the buzzer before halftime. That was just one of Shishkina’s six 3-pointers for the game. She was also able to grab three rebounds and an assist.

Jashanti Simmons led the team with 25 points, making seven of her 12 shots. The key for Simmons was to draw contact from opposing players, and it showed — she got sent to the free throw line sixteen times over the course of the game, making 10 of those free throws. Simmons played well on the defensive side of the ball as well, racking up five steals.

Jada Alston finished the game with a double-double, scoring 10 points and grabbing 11 rebounds. Along with it, Alston had three assists on the offensive end. She also did well on the defensive end, getting four steals and two blocks.

Biggest Takeaways From The Game
Defense

The Lady Chargers seemed determined to let their defense set the tone of the game. The 49 points that they allowed is the least that they have allowed this season. The 27.6 field goal percentage by New Horizon Prep is the lowest the Lady Chargers have allowed this season as well. Add in the 31 turnovers forced, and you see that this was a defensive performance by the Lady Chargers.

Rebounding

The Lady Chargers were able to out-rebound New Horizon Prep 49-34. The 49 rebounds are the most that the Lady Charger have been able to grab in a single game since the season began. Jada Alston, Jameah Alston and ShaoTung Lin were able to gather a combined 23 rebounds during the game.

What’s next for the Lady Chargers?
The Lady Chargers will be in action against East Georgia State College three times next week. They will be playing against them at their court Tuesday, a home game against them Thursday, and another away game on Saturday.