1/25/21
 
SCRANTON, Pa. – The Lackawanna College Women's Basketball team is set to welcome their main Region XIX rival, and current NJCAA DII #11 ranked team, Union County College, on Tuesday, January 25^th, at 6:00pm ET inside the Lackawanna Student Union. This will be the second meeting this year between the Owls and Falcons. The first happened back on November 30^th, when Union used a big push early to claim a large lead, only to see it shrink to as little as seven points in the fourth, and then balloon back out to an 89-70 final margin. Read about that game HERE.
 
About The Falcons
The Falcons (6-6, 3-2) got back on the winning track in their last outing, beating Mercer County CC 87-50 on the road last Wednesday. Lackawanna College used a 17-2 run in the second half to break the game wide open, shooting 45% from the field in the process. Four Falcons scored in double-figures, including a game-high 23 points from Nya Morris, and a season-high 19 points from Ashanté Amos. In all, Lackawanna College had eight different players score against Mercer.  
 
Nya Morris returned to action for the Falcons against Mercer County, after missing her previous three games to start 2022, and is the team-leader at 21 points per game so far this year.  Her 37 points against CCBC-Catonsville was her season-high, and she did it while going 12-for-13 from the free throw line, and hitting 11 field goals in the contest. Morris has scored in double-figures in all eight of her appearances this year, and has crossed 20+ points on four separate occasions. Morris won her second EPAC Player of the Week award for her efforts against Catonsville and Raritan Valley, scoring 59 points, shooting 17-for-36, and going 21-for-26 from the free throw line combined in both games. Morris also leads the team with 2.4 steals per game, averages 6.1 rebounds per game (third on the team) as a guard, and is hitting on 49% of her shots this year. Morris has hit 15 three-point shots on the year, third-most on the squad. Morris had 19 points and ten rebounds against Union earlier this year.
 
Gabrielle Jackson, is the second-leading scorer on the squad, averaging 11.5 points per game. She has scored double-figures in seven of eleven games this year, including her season-high 21 against Union earlier this year. Jackson averages a team-high 3.4 assists per game, tied with Ashanté Amos. Gabby also averages 3.9 rebounds per game as a guard. Jackson is third on the team with 12 steals this year. Jackson scored 14 points despite battling foul trouble against Monroe Bronx, and made a season-high five free throws for the Falcons. Jackson had just four points against Mercer County, but also dished out four assists and had a pair of steals for the Falcons.
 
Ashanté Amos is the third-leading scorer at 8.7 points per game this year. Amos has hit double-figures in five of her last eight games, including her season-high 19 points against Mercer County. Amos shot 6-for-10 from the field, including a pair of triples, and was 5-for-6 from the free throw line. She also had four rebounds, four assists, and a steal. Amos had back-to-back seven-assist outings against ASA and Monroe College Bronx, and is tied with Gabrielle Jackson for first on the team is assists per game (3.4). Amos is second on the team with 18 made three-point shots. Amos scored six points against the Owls earlier this year.
 
McKeyah Duley is the fourth-leading scorer, averaging 8.3 points per game this season. Her 19 points against ASA was the first time in six games that she had hit double-figures, and she's now hit double-figures three times this season. Duley had a season-high 25 points in a loss to Essex CC in November, where she hit four three-pointers. Her season-high from downtown is the five threes she hit against ASA. Duley leads the team in three-point shots made at 21. She also averages 6.2 rebounds per game, second on the squad. Twice she's grabbed her season-high of 12 boards, against both Essex County and Catonsville. Duley scored 10 points and pulled down six rebounds against Mercer County. Duley had nine points and eight rebounds in the first game against Union this season.
 
Ny Jackson is fifth on the team with 7.8 points per game this year. She's scored in double-figures five times this season, and has scored more points in her last four games (45) than she did in her first six appearances (33). Ny scored a season-high 21 points in the win against ASA Brooklyn, when she hit five three-point shots and scored 15 points in the first half alone. Jackson shot 46% from the field, and 44% from beyond-the-arc in her last two games leading up to the CCBC Essex contest. Ny had 11 points, three rebounds, two assists, and two steals against Mercer County. Ny came off the bench to score two points against Union earlier this year.
 
Thays Torres will also see time, and she's averaging 7.2 points per game this year. Thays has hit double-figures three times this year, and scored a season-high of 13 points against Niagara County CC earlier this season. Torres is averaging six rebounds per game, and is second on the team with 18 steals this year. Thays had eleven points, five rebounds, four assists, and three steals in the win over ASA, and followed that up with five points, seven rebounds, and a season-high five steals against Monroe Bronx. She had seven points in just 14 minutes against Mercer, battling foul trouble. Torres scored two points and had three rebounds in the first game against Union.
 
Daeja Cromartie will also see significant time for the Falcons. The veteran leader is averaging 5.7 points per game, thanks in part to her season-high 18 points against Delaware Tech, where she went 9-for-10 from the floor. Daeja had a team-high 12 rebounds against Northampton, and fell just two points shy of her first double-double of the season. Daeja had five points and a season-high 20 rebounds against Monroe Brooklyn. Cromartie is averaging 8.1 rebounds per game, a team-best. She has hit double-figures in rebounds in three games this year, and is averaging 12.3 rebounds per game in her last four contests. Cromartie scored seven points and pulled in 12 rebounds against Mercer. Cromartie had three points and a pair of rebounds off the bench for the Falcons against Union earlier this year.
 
Lackawanna College, averaging 70.8 points per game, is shooting at 36.5% as a team this season, and has hit 29.4% from beyond-the-arc. Lackawanna is also shooting at 62.6% from the free-throw line. Lackawanna College holds a +3 rebounding margin, and has 45 blocks as a team. The Falcons are holding their opponents to 33.9% shooting so far this year, and teams have only hit 20.5% of their three-point attempts against the Lackawanna College defense, ranking the Falcons 9^th in the NJCAA out of teams that have played at least nine games. Opponents are averaging 67.6 points per game against the Falcon defense.   
 
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 155 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.
 
About the Opponents
The #11 Union County College Owls (14-2, 7-0) are fresh off an 87-39 win over Raritan Valley CC this past weekend. Union shot 43% from the field and forced 29 turnovers to outpace the Lions, leading 44-18 at halftime. Three players scored in double-figures, led by Dana Hill's 16 points off the bench. The Owls have won four straight Region XIX titles, and have qualified four straight times for the National tournament, including a runner-up finish in the '18-'19 season.
 
The Owls are averaging 85.6 points per game, while only surrendering 53 points against. Union shoots around 43% from the field, and hits around 30% from downtown, averaging just over six three-point makes per game. Opponents are hitting 37% of their shots, and just 21.9% of their three-point attempts, while the Owls force 17 turnovers per game, including 12.9 steals per game. Union has a dominant +16 rebounding margin on the season.
 
Union County has a balanced attack where four players average double-figures on the year, led by Brianna Mills at 14.6 points per game. Mills shoots 41% from the floor, and leads the team in assists as well, dishing out just a shade under six helpers per game. She is second on the team in steals per game (1.9) and third on the team in rebounding (5.8 rebounds per game). Mills has hit double-figures 14 times this year, and had a season-high 23 points come against Montgomery College (MD), where she made nine field goals. She's gone over 20 points on four separate appearances, including 20 points against Lackawanna College in the last meeting. Mills has five double-doubles on the year, including a season-high 13 rebounds against CCBC Essex, and a season-high 10 assists, which she's hit twice, against both Essex County College and Harcum. Mills had just six points in the win over Raritan Valley.
 
Samira Sargent is second on the team, right behind Mills, at 14.1 points per game so far this year. Sargent is hitting an efficient 45% from the field, and leads the team from downtown, hitting 36% of her shots from deep, averaging almost 2.5 threes-per-game. Sargent leads the team in steals (2.2 per game) and is fourth on the team in assists per game (2.8). She's hit double-figures in 12 games this year, including a season-high 26 against Jamestown Community College, where she hit ten shots. Samira had a season-high seven rebounds and seven steals against Delaware Tech earlier this year. Sargent battled foul trouble against Lackawanna, but still managed to score 10 points and pull down four rebounds in the win. After scoring in double-figures in six straight games, she's only done it once in her last three games. Sargent scored five points in 17 minutes against Raritan Valley.
 
Nia Mallette is third on the team with 12.4 points per game this year. Mallette hits around 44% from the field, and leads the team in free throw percentage at 91%. Mallette is second on the team in assists per game (3.3) and also pulls down just over four rebounds per game. Mallete has hit double-figures 13 times this year, and has topped 20 points on two separate occasions. Mallette had a season-high 22 against Monroe CC, where she hit a season-high three three-point shots against the Tribunes. She had a season-high nine makes in a win over County College of Morris earlier this year. In that game, she also hit a season-high for assists (10), rebounds (8), and steals (5). Mallette had 11 points, five rebounds, and five assists earlier this year against Lackawanna College. She scored 12 points, pulled down five rebounds, dished out four assists, and had a pair of takeaways in the win over Raritan Valley.
 
ToniRenee Blanford is fourth on the team at 12.0 points per game. Blanford leads the team in shooting, hitting 54% of her shots this season. Blanford also pulls down 6.6 rebounds per game, good for second on the team, and she can also pass well, dishing out around 2.0 assists per game. Blanford has scored in double-figures ten times this year, and had a season-high 19 points against Chesapeake College. She has three double-doubles on the year, which includes her season-best 15-rebound performance against Essex County College. Blanford had eight points, seven rebounds, and four assists in the win over Lackawanna College earlier this year. Blanford scored eight points, but dished out five assists, in the win over Raritan Valley.
 
Rissel Rodriguez is the team leader at 8.8 rebounds per game, while averaging 6.3 points per game this year. Rodriguez is shooting around 54% from the field on the season. Rodriguez had a season-high 15 points against Lackawanna College, where she went 7-for-9 from the field and hauled in ten rebounds, including seven offensive rebounds, while dishing out four assists. She has three double-doubles on the year, and has hit double-figures in rebounds on nine different occasions this year. She had a season-high 15 rebounds against CCBC Essex earlier this year. She had just two points and four rebounds against Raritan Valley CC.
 
The head coach for Union County is Marbely Montas, in her fifth season at the helm of the Owls. A former Union County player herself, Montas, previously an assistant for the program since 2011, has continued the success she helped coach, guiding the Owls to multiple NJCAA National Basketball Tournament appearances, including a school record 30 wins in the 2018-2019 season, which culminated in a national championship game appearance. Montas, a Union County graduate, played for the Owls before earning a full-ride to Monmouth University to finish her career. She played basketball for the Dominican Republic National Team, and earned a master's in School Business Administration at Kean University. Montas is 105-28 in her five years in charge at Union County.
 
Game Information
The match-up is set for a 6:00pm ET tip-off at the Lackawanna Student Union on Tuesday, January 25^th. Tickets will be sold at the door for both adults ($5) and students ($3), and Lackawanna College students will be admitted for free by showing their ID badge. As a reminder, the Lackawanna College Athletics COVID-19 attendance policy is still in effect, meaning all spectators must be wearing masks. Click HERE for more info.
 
For those who cannot attend the game, there will be a video livestream available at www.lackawannafalcons.com/YouTube. Steve Young will provide the play-by-play, while Sports Information Director Tom Ferguson will provide the color commentary.
 
The Falcons will be back in action on Thursday, January 27^th, when they host the SUNY Orange County Colts. The game is the first of a doubleheader with the men's teams, and will start at 5:00pm ET at the Lackawanna Student Union.