11/19/21
 
SCRANTON, Pa. – The Lackawanna College Women's Basketball team returns home this weekend for the first of a two-game home stretch at the Lackawanna Student Union, all starting Saturday, November 20^th against Essex County College, with tip-off scheduled for 1:00pm ET.
 
About The Falcons
The Falcons (1-1) split their first two games of the season at the Niagara County Tip-Off Classic, earning a 65-55 win over Howard Community College on Saturday afternoon, and dropping an 80-71 contest to Niagara County CC on Sunday this past weekend. In both games, the Falcons overcame deficits to close the gap, but they couldn't replicate their big fourth quarter from Howard against Niagara. Nya Morris, who won EPAC Player of the Week for her efforts, averaged 16.5 points, 5.5 rebounds, and hit on 54% of her shots, including a 21 point, 9-for-14 shooting outing against Howard on Saturday.
 
Morris is the only player averaging double-figures, but is one of five players averaging over six points per game early in the year. Ny Jackson is second on the team with 8.0 points per game, while Gabrielle Jackson is tied for third with Thays Torres at 7.5 points per game. Mahogony Collins is averaging a team-high nine rebounds per game, to go with her five points per game. She is also the team-leader in blocks, with five in just two games. Morris is tied with Torres for the team-lead in steals (5) and Morris also leads the Falcons in assists (5).
 
Lackawanna College is shooting at 41% as a team in its first two games, and the Falcons are just 28% from beyond-the-arc. Lackawanna College holds a +3.5 rebounding margin, and has hit nearly 73% of its free throws this year.
 
Head Coach Joya Whittington enters her eighth season at the helm for the Falcons, winning three district championships and making three NJCAA National Tournament appearances, all within the last five seasons. Whittington is a three-time District Coach of the Year, and has won 150 games in her coaching career at Lackawanna College. Whittington is a Seton Hill University graduate, and a Carbondale, PA native, where she played for Carbondale Area HS.
 
The women's basketball team will be selling lottery tickets between now and December 17^th. Tickets are $20 and play off of the January 2022 Pennsylvania Lottery Evening Pick 3 Daily Number. All prizes are cash, and winners have an opportunity to win anywhere from $75 to $250.
 
Anyone from the Lackawanna College community who is interested in purchasing tickets can email coach Whittington at whittingtonj@lackawanna.edu, or flag down a women's basketball player. Tickets will also be available for purchase at the game against Essex at the Lackawanna Student Union on Saturday November 20^th.
 
About the Opponents
The Essex County College Wolverines come in at 3-1 on the year, riding a three game winning streak. Their latest game was a 47-42 win over ASA Brooklyn, on the road.
 
Essex is averaging 61.5 points per game, and is giving up around 57 points per game. The feature player is Jakira Coar, who won GSAC POTW for her efforts in her first two games this year, averaging 19.0 points per game, and hitting an average of four three-point shots per game, including eight in the win for Essex over Middlesex earlier this season. Coar averaged 9.5 rebounds per game in her first two contests, a team-high, and just a shade under two assists per game, all while not starting her first two games.
 
Salma Abouelkheir is second on the team in scoring, averaging 12.5 points per game entering this week's games, also pulling down around eight rebounds per game. Mia Martinez was third on the team in the first two games of the year, scoring 10.5 points per game, tied for the team-lead in assists (4.0) and steals (3.0) per game with her sister Ania Martinez, who scored nine points in her only appearance before this week.
 
The head coach for the Wolverines is Anthony Green.
 
Game Information
The match-up is set for a 1:00pm tip-off at the Lackawanna Student Union on Saturday, November 20^th. Tickets will be sold at the door, and available for students ($3) and adults ($5). Students with a Lackawanna College ID get in for free. All attendees are required to follow NJCAA Region XIX and Lackawanna College guidelines, which include wearing facemasks when in the Student Union. For more details and our spectator policy, click HERE.
 
For those who cannot attend in person, a video livestream will be available via the Lackawanna College YouTube Channel. Steve Young and Sports Information Director Tom Ferguson will have the call. Watch along HERE.