2/1/22
 
SCRANTON, Pa. – The Lackawanna College Women's Basketball team will get back into Region XIX play on Tuesday, February 1^st, when they travel to take on Raritan Valley CC in Branchburg, NJ. It'll be the first game of a doubleheader, with the men's teams to follow. The women's game tips at 5:00pm ET from Raritan's Physical Education Building on campus. 
 
The Falcons will look to make it a sweep this year over the Lions, having defeated Raritan Valley back in December by a tight 58-56 margin. You can read the recap from that game HERE.
 
About The Falcons
The Falcons (6-7, 2-3) have not played since last Tuesday, when they played host to the NJCAA Division II #11 Union County College Owls in a key Region XIX match-up. It was Union that would survive, 60-51, but Lackawanna gave them a serious scare. The Falcons used a big 12-2 run to erase a double-digit deficit, and had one last push that put them within one score with 90 seconds to play, but they ultimately couldn't hold up against the size and strength of Union, as the Owls scored the final seven points of the game, including a 5-for-6 showing from the free throw line in the last minute. The Falcons were led by Daeja Cromartie, who scored a season-high 22 points and pulled down eight rebounds, while Nya Morris chipped in with 13 points, despite playing through foul trouble. Read the recap from that game HERE.
 
Morris leads the Falcons in scoring this year at 20.1 points per game.  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 nine 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 5.8 rebounds per game (tied for third on the team) as a guard, and is hitting on 48% of her shots this year. Morris has hit 16 three-point shots on the year, third-most on the squad. Morris had 22 points to lead all scorers, including a 9-for-13 performance from the free throw line, in the last game against Raritan.
 
Gabrielle Jackson is the second-leading scorer on the squad, averaging 11.1 points per game. She has scored double-figures seven times this season, but has only done so once in her last five games. Jackson scored a season-high 21 against Union earlier this year. She averages a team-high 3.5 assists per game, and just a shade over one steal per contest. Gabby also averages 3.7 rebounds per game as a guard. Jackson is third on the team with 14 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 scored six points on 3-for-12 shooting against Union, but she also dished out five assists for the Falcons. Gabby scored 13 points and had a team-high four steals in the win over Raritan Valley earlier this season.
 
Ashanté Amos is the third-leading scorer at 8.2 points per game this year. Amos has hit double-figures in five games this season, 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 second on the team in assists per game (3.3). Amos is second on the team with 18 made three-point shots. Amos had two points and three assists against Union. Amos scored just two points, but led the team with six assists against Raritan Valley earlier this year.
 
McKeyah Duley is the fourth-leading scorer, averaging 7.8 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 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 6.0 rebounds per game, second on the squad. Twice she's grabbed her season-high of 12 boards, against both Essex and Catonsville. Duley had three points and two rebounds in the first game against Raritan Valley.
 
Ny Jackson is fifth on the team with 7.3 points per game this year. She's scored in double-figures five times this season, including her 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 scored two points and had two assists off the bench against Union in her last game. Ny did not see action against Raritan Valley in December.
 
Thays Torres will also see time, and she's averaging 6.8 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 5.8 rebounds per game, and is second on the team with 19 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 had two points, three rebounds, and a steal against Union. Thays had ten points, five rebounds, and three assists against Raritan Valley earlier this year.
 
Daeja Cromartie will also see significant time for the Falcons. The veteran leader is averaging 7.1 points per game, and scored a season-high 22 points against Union. Cromartie was 10-for-13 from the floor, knocked down just her second three-pointer of the year, and had eight rebounds against the massive front court from Union. 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 11.4 rebounds per game in her last five contests. Daeja had two points and a team-high nine rebounds against Raritan Valley in the first match-up.
 
Lackawanna College, averaging 69.3 points per game, is shooting at 36.5% as a team this season, and has hit 28.5% from beyond-the-arc. Lackawanna is also shooting at 61.2% from the free-throw line. Lackawanna College is even on rebounding margin this season, and has 47 blocks as a team. The Falcons are holding their opponents to 33.5% shooting so far this year, and teams have only hit 20.6% 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 ten games. Opponents are averaging 67.0 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
Raritan Valley (9-11, 0-6) has won its last three games, and five of its last seven, and is coming off its most impressive win of the year. The Lions knocked off the NJCAA DIII #5 Monroe College Bronx Express in their last game, 71-56, at home last Thursday. In that game, Raritan shot 45% from the field, and held the Express to just 28% shooting for the game. The Lions overcame 28 turnovers and put four players in double-figures, including a game-high 23 points from Brie Opdyke, who also pulled down 15 rebounds for a double-double. Le'Ana Brown had 22 points, and hit a game-high six three-pointers, while Micaela Etlinger and Judith Girones Gonzalez added 12 points, apiece.
 
Raritan Valley is averaging and giving up around 60 points per game so far this season. The Lions are hitting around 21% of their three-point attempts, and 36% overall from the field this year, while their opponents are also shooting 36% overall, but hitting closer to 27% from downtown. Raritan has been outrebounded by a -3.5 margin this season, but the Lions are averaging around 11 steals per game. Raritan averages close to 21 turnovers per game, while forcing 19 per contest.  
 
Brie Opdyke leads Raritan Valley in scoring, averaging 17.0 points per game this season. Opdyke is one of two players averaging double-figures for Raritan this season. She's scored in double-figures in 16 games this year, including a season-high 26 points in the win at RCSJ-Gloucester. Opdyke has scored in double-figures in 12 of her last 13 games. She's scored over 20 points in ten games this year, is shooting around 42% from the field on the season, and is the team-leader in rebounds at 8.6 per game. Opdyke has six double-doubles on the year, twice hitting her season-high 15 rebounds. Opdyke is first on the team with 2.2 assists per game, and is also second on the team with 1.9 steals per game this season. Opdyke scored 20 points, grabbed eight rebounds, and had three steals against Lackawanna earlier this season.
 
Judith Girones Gonzalez is second on the team with 11.1 points per game this year, and leads the team with 2.5 steals per game. Gonzalez has scored in double-figures in 12 games this season, including a season-high 21 points in the win against RCSJ-Gloucester, making eight shots and going 5-for-8 from the free throw line. Gonzalez has hit her season-high of five steals on three separate occasions this season, and has one double-double on the year, when she scored ten points and grabbed eleven rebounds against Delaware Tech. Gonzalez had 13 points, eight rebounds, four assists, and four steals against Lackawanna College earlier this season.    
 
Micaela Etlinger is third on the team with 8.5 points per game this year, and is second on the team at 6.2 rebounds per game. Etlinger is also second on the team at 2.1 assists per game. Etlinger is shooting around 33% from the field, and has scored in double-figures seven times this year. Her season-high came against SUNY Orange, where she scored 22 points and went 7-for-10 from the free throw line. Etlinger also had five assists, five steals, and three rebounds in that win over SUNY Orange. Etlinger has hit double-figures in rebounds twice this year, including a season-high 13 against Harcum, where she also scored 14 points for her lone double-double on the year. Etlinger is averaging 17 points per game in her last two appearances. She had five points and seven rebounds against Lackawanna College earlier this season.
 
Le'Ana Brown is fourth on the team at 6.0 points per game. Brown is shooting around 34% this year, and leads the team in three-point percentage at 30.4% this year. Brown has hit double-figures three times this season, getting her season-high of 22 points against Monroe Bronx on 7-for-8 shooting, six of which were threes. Brown had six points, two rebounds, and an assist against Lackawanna earlier this year.
 
Allison Seater may also see significant time for the Lions. Seater is averaging 3.6 points per game this year, and is third on the team with 5.8 rebounds per game. Seater also leads the team in blocks, at 1.3 per contest. Seater had a season-high nine points against Brookdale CC last week, where she went 4-for-6 from the floor. Seater also had seven rebounds in that game. Twice this season, Seater has topped double-figures in rebounds, pulling down her season-high 11 rebounds both times. Seater is averaging seven rebounds per game in her last three contests. Seater had two points and seven rebound against Monroe Bronx, and had six points and four rebounds against Lackawanna earlier this season.
 
The head coach for Raritan Valley is Philip Herro, in his seventh season at the helm for the Lions. Herro was hired to help transition the program from club to varsity status, and oversaw that transition in the 2015-2016 season. He quickly developed Raritan into a team to be reckoned with in Region XIX, going 22-9 in back-to-back seasons in 2018 and 2019. Herro's teams have made three Region XIX semi-finals, and four Region XIX playoffs overall. Herro is 85-71 in his seven years in charge.  
 
Game Information
The match-up is set for a 5:00pm ET tip-off at the Raritan Valley Community College Physical Education building on Tuesday, February 1^st. It'll be the first game of a doubleheader, with the men's game to follow. The game will be open to the public, but fans are asked to wear masks and social distance, per Raritan Valley policies.
 
For those who cannot attend the game, there will be a video livestream available on the Raritan Valley YouTube channel HERE.
 
The Falcons will be back home on Thursday, February 3^rd, when they host the Harcum College Bears. The game is the first of a doubleheader with the Lackawanna men's basketball team, and will start at 5:00pm ET at the Lackawanna Student Union.