Lake Charles, Louisiana. — A historic run for the Central Georgia Technical College (CGTC) women’s basketball team to the 2026 National Junior College Athletic Association (NJCAA) Division-1 Women’s Basketball tournament in Lake Charles, Louisiana, ended on Wednesday as the Titans lost to State Fair College, 80-73.
The first round match-up played on the campus of McNeese State saw the Titans get off to a sluggish start, down nine after the first quarter, only after a hail-mary, bank three-pointer flung high and into the basket by point guard Grace Byford.
The second quarter provided a glimpse of the offensive firepower the Titans became known for throughout the season, but an inability to get stops defensively left them down 44-27 at halftime.
It was in the third quarter when the Titans started to mount a comeback, led by 6-of-11 three-point shooting and 22 points from Amira Walters-Smith. Lyric Green and Aven Sasser contributed 16 and 15 points, respectively.
“There were a lot of good teams here, and we played our hardest to the very end,” said Walters-Smith. ” I have so much respect for our girls because when circumstances like these come, and it being our first time in the tournament, we still knew what we had to do. We just fell short.”
The Titans cut the lead under ten more than twice, but the slow start, even with a last-minute attempt at a comeback, pulling to within five points under 45 seconds, proved to be too much to overcome.
“The experience alone was history,” said head coach John Gordon, as he reflected post-game to the media. “We dug ourselves a deep hole in the game, part of that being the jitters of the first time and first tournament experience. But what I was proud of was that the girls didn’t give up.”
Fortitude defined the postseason run for the Titans, earning the tournament spot as a No. 2 seed in the conference tournament. Labeled a Cinderella by the NJCAA broadcast of the tournament bracket release and selection show, the Titans entered the tournament seeded 24th out of 24 teams. By every outside estimation, they weren’t supposed to be in Louisiana.
“It says a lot about the character of our team. We fight hard till the end,” Gordon said. “State Fair was the No. 6 team in the nation. Battling back says a lot about where our program is headed.”
The program is headed in a positive direction, as more than half of the team are freshmen and are eligible to return.
The Titans earned the tournament bid by winning the 2026 Georgia Collegiate Athletic Association (GCAA) championship, a first in program history. The Titans finished the season 21-8 overall.
For the full box score, visit www.cgtctitans.com.
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PHOTOS: 1 & 2. Number 21, Aryana Thomas , inbounds the ball against state fair college. 3. Number 10, Ty’Leishiah Latimore, jumps to defend a pass. 4.The CGTC Women’s Basketball team preps for its first round match-up against State Fair College on Wednesday. 5. Number 20, Aven Sasser, looks to add another point at the free-throw line.