Scranton, PA – The final regular season game of the year, saw the Lackawanna College Women's Basketball Team welcome the #1 nationally ranked (Division III) and undefeated Nassau Community College to the Historic Student Union. Both teams had already clinched the #1 seeds in their Region tournaments, but were looking to end the season on a high note with a big win. The game was deemed a "Red Out" and all the staff, students and fans packed the gym wearing red. While the two teams are in different divisions, this was one of the biggest match-ups of the season.
In the first quarter, the Lady Falcons were looking to erase the bad taste of their loss Wednesday and they did just that.
Kiana Williams converted a layup off of the jump ball and that was followed by a
Kyla Smith 3-pointer. Lackawanna would then proceed to go on a 10-0 run, after a
Briaunna McCullough jumper gave them a 13-2 lead. A basket by
Daeja Cromartie capped off a 7-3 run, and the Lady Falcons found themselves with a commanding 22-5 advantage. After two free throws by
Miliesha Troche, the quarter ended with Lackawanna leading the #1 team in the nation, 26-9.
Kyla Smith and
Kiana Williams continued the Lady Falcons scoring, to start the second quarter, and suddenly the lead was stretched to 20 points, 31-11. Nassau was able to cut the lead to 16, but Lackawanna found their momentum again, as
Ciaira Loyd took a defensive rebound coast to coast for 2 points. A
Briaunna McCullough jumper, followed by free throws from
Miliesha Troche and
Jayla Lewis, gave the Lady Falcons a 38-20 lead, heading into the half.
The third quarter saw Lackawanna continue to find the basket, as
Kiana Williams and
Keyanah Price each scored from the paint, to keep the Lady Falcons' advantage at 20 points.
Ciaira Loyd would then convert on a 3-point play, to give Lackawanna a 52-31 lead. However, Nassau finally was able to settle down and start converting on their scoring opportunities. At the 2:52 mark of the quarter, the Lady Lions trimmed the lead to only 11 points. As the quarter was coming to a close,
Miliesha Troche drained a 3-pointer and
Ciaira Loyd hit a step back 3-pointer, at the buzzer, to increase their lead back to 19 points, 64-45.
Nassau came out in the fourth quarter and began to chip away at the Lackawanna lead. Their press forced a number of turnovers and they were able to convert those into points. The Lady Lions forced the Lady Falcons to call a timeout when they cut the lead to 14. After the timeout, they would pull within 11 points and suddenly they began to take control of the quarter. However,
Kyla Smith would connect on a 3-pointer to stop the Nassau run. With 24 seconds left, Lackawanna found themselves only up by 8, but free throws by
Allanah Bradford and
Kyla Smith, closed things out, as the Lady Falcons snapped Nassau's 25 game winning streak, by handing them their first loss of the season.
With the win, Lackawanna finishes the regular season with a record of 24-4 and remained undefeated at the Historic Student Union. The Lady Falcons were led by
Kyla Smith with 16 points, followed by
Kiana Williams with 13 points and a team high 12 rebounds. Williams also had 7 blocks on the game.
Ciaira Loyd contributed with 12 points and 6 assists, while
Briaunna McCullough added 11 points and 15 rebounds.
Jamie Brann also came off the bench to score 10 points and grab 5 rebounds. Now that the regular season is over, Lackawanna's road the Final Four begins Saturday as they open up the Region XIX tournament, at Raritan Valley Community College, as the #1 seed. They will play Raritan Valley at 12:00pm.
