11/3/22        
 
SCRANTON, Pa. – With a new head coach and a few new faces, the Lackawanna College women's basketball team is finally set to open its 2022-2023 season.
 
The Falcons travel to CCBC Catonsville to take on the Cardinals for their season opener on Thursday, November 3^rd. Tip-off is scheduled for 5:00pm ET inside the Jack Manley Wellness and Athletics Center on campus in Catonsville. The game is the first of a scheduled doubleheader, with the men's squads following at 7:00pm ET. Both games will be livestreamed via the CCBC Catonsville Athletics YouTube channel, HERE.
 
About The Falcons
Lackawanna College went 10-12 last season, their first season under .500 since the 2013-2014 year. The Falcons played an up-and-down year, with a lone three-game winning streak. Otherwise, it was a lot of start and stop, with Lackawanna never really getting on a roll. Lackawanna College will need to replace 1^st Team All-Region and 2^nd Team All-American Nya Morris, who led the Falcons in almost every statistical category last season. Morris averaged 20.5 points, double the next closest Falcon, while pulling down 6.6 rebounds per game in 17 appearances.
 
The Falcons do return their second-leading scorer, and 2^nd Team All-Region selection, Gabrielle Jackson (Darby Twp, PA), who is back for her third year. Jackson averaged 10.4 points per game, and led the team with 3.7 assists per game. She hit double-figures 12 times last year, with a team-high 21 points against Union County College last November. Jackson had four points and seven assists last season in the match-up between Catonsville and Lackawanna, an 84-77 loss for the Falcons.
 
Another third-year returner, McKeyah Duley (Massillon, OH), will help buoy the Falcons three-point prospects. Duley averaged eight points per game last year, and led the Falcons in three-point shooting, hitting a team-best 38 threes and hitting at 31.4% from downtown. Duley hit double-figures in scoring six times last year, including her season-best 25 points against Essex County College at home last November. Against Catonsville last December, Duley had nine points and ten rebounds, including three three-point shots.
 
Nya Jackson (Harrisburg, PA) also returns to the Falcons this year, after averaging 6.2 points per game in her 14 games last year. Jackson scored in double-figures five times last year, including three times in a four game stretch, and had a season-best 21 points at home against ASA Brooklyn in January. Jackson did not play in the game against Catonsville last year.
 
Cianna Roberts (Brooklyn, NY) will also see her role increase over last year. Roberts played in 20 games for the Falcons last season, providing defense and some high energy off the bench. Roberts hit double-figures just once last year, scoring eleven points against ASA Brooklyn. Roberts has the ability to attack the basket, and will be expected to show that more this season.
 
The Falcons also welcome back Mahogony Collins (Harrisburg, PA) to the fold this year. Collins was a major contributor in the first half of the season last year, providing a steady defensive presence in the middle of the floor with her 6-2 frame. Collins can alter shots, snag rebounds, and has improved her mid-range game on the offensive side.
 
Some of the newer faces expected to make immediate contributions include: Shaylynn Waiters (Allentown, PA), a lanky guard who can cut through the defense and get her shot up at the basket; Sidney Spence (Bronx, NY), a transfer from CCBC Catonsville who can slash, rebound, and distribute the ball; Nariyah Turner (Philadelphia, PA), a forward with the ability to handle the basketball, attack the basket, and make plays happen; and Seanlajah Smith (Philadelphia, PA), a guard/forward who can handle the basketball, drive in the paint, and help the Falcons try to clean up on the glass.  
 
The newest face in the women's basketball program is Monica Spence, entering her first year in charge of the program. Spence follows in the footsteps of Joya Whittington, who was third all-time in wins as a coach and led the Falcons to several stops in the national tournament. Spence joined as an assistant last season, and was elevated to head coach with Whittington's departure. Spence has spent time as a coach at the youth level, as well as the semi-professional men's basketball level.
 
About The Opponents
The Cardinals (0-1) dropped their season opener to Harcum College, 71-67, on Tuesday night. Catonsville held a slender one-point lead heading into the fourth, and held a 67-66 lead with 1:04 to go, before the Bears scored on a jumper, then hit three-of-four free throws to ice the game. The game saw 56 combined fouls, and the home Cardinals shoot 36.7% overall, while Harcum shot 41% from the field. Harcum was just 1-for-19 from downtown, but made more free throws (26) than Catonsville attempted (24) for the game. Amaree McKnight, who hit a pair of big threes at the end of the fourth, finished with a team-high 12 points, while Ah'niya Tillery and Destiny Perry each had ten points for the Cardinals. Tillery and Kayla Cabbagestalk each had seven rebounds.
 
McKnight was the second leading scorer last year, averaging 12.7 points per game for the Cardinals. McKnight was second on the team at 6.2 rebounds per game, and second as well in steals at two per contest. McKnight scored in double-figures 13 times last year, including her season-best 30 points against Frederick, where she hit eleven shots from the floor. McKnight was one of three Cardinals players with 20 points against the Falcons last year, scoring 20 points and five rebounds in the win for Catonsville.
 
McKnight is one of only two sophomores on the Cardinals roster, and is the only player with any experience from last season. Destiny Perry is the other sophomore on the roster, but did not play last year. Perry had 10 points and five rebounds, as well as three assists and three steals, in the loss to Harcum.  
 
Ah'niya Tillery is a 5-8 freshman guard from Baltimore, MD, and she scored ten points and had seven rebounds in the loss to Harcum. Tillery struggled from the field, going 4-for-18, and had four fouls in the contest.
 
Kayla Cabbagestalk is a 6-0 freshman guard/forward from Baltimore who scored nine points and had seven rebounds in the loss to Harcum. Cabbagestalk also had four fouls in the game. Three Cardinal players had four or more fouls against Harcum.
 
The head coach for CCBC Catonsville is Morris "Stretch" Brandon, now in his third season in charge for the Cardinals. Brandon was an assistant for the program in the 2018-2019 season, prior to taking over, and has over 20 years of coaching experience at multiple levels. Brandon started in the high school ranks, winning a pair of state championships at Western HS in Maryland, while recruiting talented players to play a national scheduled at multiple stops. Brandon also has AAU and women's D-League experience, as well as collegiate experience from his time as an assistant at Morgan State University.
 
The Match-Up
The game against CCBC Catonsville is scheduled for a 5:00pm ET tip-off, and is the first game of a doubleheader, with the men's teams competing second at 7:00pm. Both games will be streamed live on the CCBC Catonsville Athletics YouTube Channel, which you can access HERE.
 
The next game for the Falcons will be on Saturday, November 5^th, when Lackawanna takes on Monroe College in New Rochelle, NY as part of Monroe's early season tournament. The Falcons and Mustangs will tip-off inside the Monroe Athletic Complex at 4:00pm ET.