1/15/21
 
SCRANTON, Pa. – The Lackawanna College Women's Basketball team struggled to get going on offense, as the nationally ranked CCBC Essex Knights led wire-to-wire in an 84-27 win on Saturday afternoon at the Lackawanna Student Union.
 
On a frigid weekend where temperatures across NEPA were single digits, the Falcons (5-6) were similarly cold from the field, shooting just 14% overall, and going an uncharacteristic 3-for-30 from beyond-the-arc. Essex (14-0), the #7 team in the latest NJCAA Division II rankings, forced 30 turnovers, and scored 37 points from those turnovers. The Knights hounded the Falcons with various full and half-court presses, forcing bad passes and contested shots, allowing themselves to get out and run. Lackawanna made Essex work a little harder than usual on offense, holding the Knights to 35% shooting for the game, and just 19% from downtown.
 
CCBC Essex had a pair of players in double-figures, getting a game-high 21 points from Patricia Anumgba, while Lyric Swann added 20 for the Knights. The Falcons were led by McKeyah Duley, who scored eight points, while Gabrielle Jackson and Thays Torres each added six. Torres had 11 rebounds to lead Lackawanna, while Daeja Cromartie added eight of her own.
 
From the tip, the Knights put the clamps on Lackawanna College, forcing the Falcons into numerous turnovers right out of the gate. However, the Falcon defense stood strong, and a pair of three-point shots from McKeyah Duley had Lackawanna College within striking distance late in the first quarter at 10-6. Essex would close the quarter on a 7-0 run, however, to re-assert themselves and take a double-digit lead that they would never surrender.
 
The second period saw the Knights ramp up the defensive pressure, as the Falcons managed just a Thays Torres three, and an Ashanté Amos lay-up from the field, to go with a free throw from Cianna Roberts. Other than that, it was tough sledding for the Falcons, as the length and speed of the Knights defense started to weigh on Lackawanna College. The Falcons went the final six minutes of the second without a field goal, as the Knights opened up a 43-12 lead at the half.
 
After some back-and-forth to start the third quarter, the Knights went on one of their patented runs, hitting the Falcons up for a 19-1 scoring run over 5:13 of game time to lengthen their lead to 66-17. The fourth saw both teams struggle from the field, as the Knights outscored Lackawanna College 11-8 to end the game.
 
The Falcons drop to 5-6 on the year, and will be back in action on Wednesday, January 19^th, when they travel to Trenton, NJ to take on the Mercer County CC Vikings in a Region XIX match-up. That game is the first of a doubleheader with the men's teams, and will start at 5:00pm ET.