2/12/22
 
SCRANTON, Pa. – The Lackawanna College Women's Basketball team used a strong third quarter to overcome a sluggish start, pushing them past the Monroe College Mustangs, 59-52, on Saturday afternoon at the Lackawanna Student Union.
 
The Falcons (8-9) trailed 25-22 at the break, after shooting 24% from the floor and committing eleven turnovers in the first half, but managed to get the offense up and running in the third quarter. With both teams trading buckets, it was still Monroe ahead, 40-35, with 2:21 to go in the third, when the Falcons hit a game-changing 10-2 run to close the quarter, with Gabrielle Jackson knocking down the three-pointer to give the Falcons a two-point lead, and then hitting a lay-up before the quarter ended to make it 45-42 after three. From there, the Falcons would never surrender the lead, salting things away in the fourth quarter to come away with the win. Lackawanna outrebounded the bigger Mustangs 49-40 on the glass, while putting three players in double-figures. Nya Morris led the way with 18 points and 12 rebounds, while Gabrielle Jackson scored all 12 of her points in the second half.
 
The Falcons used a 9-2 run to open the game and take control, buoyed by Ashante Amos and Nya Morris hitting buckets, but the Mustangs (13-14) held Lackawanna without a basket for the last 6:03 of the quarter, en route to their own 9-2 run and knotting things up at 11-all after one quarter. The Falcons missed ten shots and had six turnovers in that stretch of the game.
 
A pair of Cromartie free throws would break the scoreless stream, but the Falcons would go 4:01 of the second quarter before hitting a bucket, as a Thays Torres runner made it 17-15, Monroe, with 5:59 to go in the second, ending what had been a 13-2 run for the Mustangs. Ashante Amos quickly knocked down a three to give the Falcons an 18-17 lead, and a Morris lay-up made it a three-point game, but Naomi Barnwell, who finished with 21 points and 12 rebounds, hit a three-pointer to tie things back up, followed a minute later by Aysia Pink from deep to give the Mustangs the lead. Monroe held Lackawanna without a bucket for nearly four minutes, before a Morris put-back made it 25-22, with Monroe taking that lead into the half.
 
Neither team shot particularly well in the first half, with Monroe shooting 29% from the field, and just 2-for-12 from downtown, while the Falcons were 24% from the field, and just 2-for-9 from deep. The Falcons had 11 first half turnovers, which turned into 11 points for the Mustangs.
 
The second half started better for both teams, with both teams trading buckets back-and-forth. Every time the Falcons pulled within a possession, the Mustangs managed to get it back to two possessions, but no one could quite land the knockout punch. After a Barnwell three-pointer made it 40-35, Mustangs, with 3:09 to go, it seemed like maybe Monroe had done it, but the Falcons began their critical run to close the quarter. It started with a Daeja Cromartie baseline jumper to cut it to three, and a McKeyah Duley three-ball from the corner tied things up at 40, with 1:37 to play in the third. After a Daja Wentz lay-up briefly gave the Mustangs the lead back, Gabby Jackson struck with a three-pointer from the right corner, right in front of the Lackawanna student section, sending the Falcons in front and the Student Union into a frenzy. Another Jackson jumper in the paint would close out the 10-2 run, giving the Falcons a 45-42 lead after three.
 
The defenses would tighten, but the Falcons would get a pair of runners from Jackson and Thays Torres, making it 49-43 with 7:35 to go. Both teams would go nearly two minutes without a bucket before Aysia Pink scored inside for the Mustangs to cut it to four, but another Cromartie jumper, followed by Morris scoring after a Duley offensive rebound, made it 53-45 Falcons, with 4:08 to play. The Mustangs would score a few free throws, but the Falcons managed to answer with a bucket, making it 55-47 with 1:31 to play. Another free throw, followed by a lay-up off a steal, brought the Mustangs within five at 55-50, with 0:56 to play. After a foul, Gabrielle Jackson hit a pair of free throws to make it 57-50 with 46 seconds remaining, and the Falcons would sink three more down the stretch to keep the game out of reach.
 
With the win, Lackawanna College improves to 8-9 overall, and now turns its attention to a critical two-game stretch in Region XIX play. Their next game is Monday, February 14^th, when they travel to Newark, NJ to take on the Essex County College Wolverines. That game will be the first of a doubleheader, with the men's teams to follow. The women's game will tip at 5:00pm ET, and is a rematch from a game earlier this year, where the Wolverines won in overtime against Lackawanna College.