2/16/22
 
SCRANTON, Pa. – The Lackawanna College Women's Basketball team will look to try to grab one more Region XIX win on Wednesday, February 16^th, when they travel to take on the Harcum College Lady Bears. The game is set for 5:00pm ET, and will be the first of a doubleheader for Harcum, with their men's team hosting Cecil College at 7:00pm ET.
 
The Falcons are looking to avenge a loss from two weeks ago, when the Lady Bears came to Scranton back on February 3^rd and won 66-50. That was a game where Harcum trailed at halftime, but used a strong second half to pull away from Lackawanna College. Read the recap from that game HERE.
 
About The Falcons
The Falcons (8-10, 3-5) fell in their last game, losing 75-68 on the road at Essex County College this past Monday. Lackawanna College struggled on offense right out of the gate, falling behind 12-3 in the first six-and-a-half minutes, as Jakira Coar scored 17 first quarter points, on her way to 36 for the Wolverines. Lackawanna would close within four points a few times in the second half, but Essex always seemed to find another gear to pull away. Nya Morris led the Falcons with 25 points, 14 coming in the fourth quarter. Gabrielle Jackson added 12 points for Lackawanna. Read the recap HERE.
 
Morris is the team-leader for Lackawanna College at 20.8 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 14 of her appearances this year, and has crossed 20+ points on eight 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 three steals per game, averages 6.5 rebounds per game (second on the team) as a guard, and is hitting on 44% of her shots this year. Morris has hit 21 three-point shots on the year, third-most on the squad. Nya set a season-high for steals with seven at Raritan Valley. Morris has scored 20+ points in seven of her last eight games. Nya had 25 against Essex in her last game, and had 26 points, nine rebounds, and five assists in the loss to Harcum.  
 
Gabrielle Jackson is the second-leading scorer on the squad, averaging 10.9 points per game. She has scored double-figures eleven times this season, including her season-high 21 against Union earlier this year. She averages a team-high 3.4 assists per game, and also averages 1.4 steals per contest. Gabby pulls down 3.9 rebounds per game as a guard. Jackson is tied for second on the team with 23 steals this year. Jackson had 12 points against Monroe, all in the second half, and has scored in double-figures in four of her last five games. Gabby scored 12 points in the loss at Essex. She was held to just two points and two assists against Harcum in their first match-up.  
 
Ashante Amos is the third-leading scorer at 8.4 points per game this year. Amos has hit double-figures in seven 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 (3.2). Amos is second on the team with 27 made three-point shots. Ashante had six points on a pair of three-pointers against Essex in her last game. Amos was an efficient 6-for-7, including 2-for-3 from downtown, against Harcum College, where she scored 14 points. Amos had ten points, five rebounds, and four assists in the win over Monroe College.
 
McKeyah Duley is the fourth-leading scorer, averaging 7.6 points per game this season. Duley has hit double-figures four times this season. Duley had a season-high 25 points in the loss to Essex County College in November, where she hit four three-pointers. Her season-high from downtown is the five threes she hit against ASA, which she matched against Monroe this year. Duley leads the team in three-point shots made at 30. She also averages 5.8 rebounds per game, third on the squad. Twice she's grabbed her season-high of 12 boards, against both Essex and Catonsville. Duley was held to just two points in the loss to Essex. She had just two points and six rebounds against Harcum in their first match-up.
 
Daeja Cromartie is fifth on the team in scoring, as the veteran leader is averaging 6.6 points per game. Daeja scored a season-high 22 points against Union, where she went 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 8.8 rebounds per game, a team-best. She has hit double-figures in rebounds in six games this year, but has been stellar as of late. Cromartie has gone over double-digits in rebounds in five of her last nine games, and is averaging 11.1 rebounds per game iin that span. Daeja had eight points, nine boards, and three assists against Monroe College on Saturday. Daeja scored seven points against Essex in her last game. She pulled down ten rebounds, but was held to just two points, in the loss to Harcum.  
 
Thays Torres will see significant time for the Falcons, and she's averaging 5.9 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 5.2 rebounds per game, and is third on the team with 21 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. Thays had six points for the Falcons against Essex in her last game. She had four points and six boards against Harcum in their previous match-up.   
 
Lackawanna College is averaging 67.2 points per game, while shooting at 35.7% overall, and 27% from beyond-the-arc. Lackawanna is also shooting at 62% from the free-throw line. The Falcons are even on rebounding margin this season, and have 55 blocks as a team. The Falcons are holding their opponents to 33.7% shooting so far this year, and teams have hit 22.6% of their three-point attempts against the Lackawanna College defense, ranking the Falcons 11^th in the NJCAA Division II. Opponents are averaging 65.9 points per game against the Falcon defense. Lackawanna College is averaging just shy of 20 turnovers per game, but the Falcons are forcing around 20 turnovers per game from their opponents, as well.
 
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 157 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
Harcum College (14-11, 4-4), since knocking off Lackawanna College, has gone 2-2 in their last four games. The Lady Bears currently sit a game ahead of Lackawanna College in the Region standings, and have one more contest remaining, when they travel to take on Delaware Tech on Thursday, February 17^th. In their last game, Harcum won 88-30 over Mercer County CC on Saturday. The Lady Bears had just eight turnovers, and had 18 offensive rebounds, while shooting 46% from the field and putting five players in double-figures. Macy Brackett led all scorers with 19 points off the bench, going 9-for-12 from the field. Kayla Williams added 16 off the bench, while Jasmyn Jefferies put up eleven points, seven rebounds, and seven steals.
 
On the year, Harcum is averaging around 65 points per game this year, while only giving up 57 points per contest. The Lady Bears are shooting around 36% from the field, but are just 23% from downtown this year. Opposing teams, meanwhile, are hitting 35% and 29%, respectively, against the Harcum defense. The Lady Bears are -2 on rebounding margin this year, though they are averaging an extra three offensive rebounds per game, versus their opponents. The Lady Bears are forcing around 22 turnovers per game, and average around eleven steals per contest.
 
Courtney Turner is one of two players averaging double-figures for the Lady Bears this year, and she leads the pack with 12.6 points per game. Turner is hitting around 53% of her shots this season, and is the team-leader at 79% from the free throw line. Turner leads the team in rebounding at 11.2 rebounds per game, including five offensive rebounds per game. Turner, after missing the first seven games of the year, has hit double-figures in eleven of her 15 appearances this year. Her season-high 24 points came against Howard CC, where she went 9-for-14 from the floor and hit all six of her free throws. Turner had a season-high nine makes against RCSJ Gloucester earlier this year. Turner has eleven double-doubles on the year, and has hit her season-high in rebounds twice, including the 16 rebounds she had against Hagerstown. Turner had just two points against Mercer in her last game. She scored 15 points and had 12 rebounds against Lackawanna College in their previous meeting.
 
Jasmyn Jefferies is second on the team at 10.5 points per game this year. Jefferies leads the team in three-point shooting at 34%, and is second on the team with 3.4 assists per game. Jefferies is second on the team in steals, at 2.9 steals per contest. Jefferies has scored in double-figures eight times this year, including her eleven points against Mercer. She had her season-high 30 points come against Raritan Valley, where she hit ten field goals, including 7-for-8 from downtown, against the Lions. Jefferies has one double-double on the year, a 21-point, ten rebound performance against Del Tech, and had a season-high seven assists against Northampton. Jefferies scored eleven points in the win over Lackawanna in their last meeting.
 
Macy Brackett is third on the team at 9.1 points per game. Brackett has played exclusively in the spring semester, shooting 56% from the field and hitting just shy of 71% from the charity stripe. Brackett is third on the team with two steals per game, and is averaging just over three rebounds per game. She has scored in double-figures in five games this year, including her season-high 19 points against Mercer in her last game, where she made a season-best nine field goals against the Vikings. She had a season-high six steals in her first game against Harford College. Brackett did not score against Lackawanna College.
 
Aniyah Bond is fourth on the team with 8.5 points per game this year. Bond is hitting around 38% from the field, and is averaging around 4.7 rebounds per contest. Bond has scored in double-figures eight times this year, including a season-high 21 points against Northampton CC, where she hit ten shots from the floor. Bond has two double-doubles on the year, including against RCSJ Gloucester, where she scored 15 points and pulled down a season-high 14 rebounds. Bond had eleven points and eight rebounds against Mercer in her last game, and she scored seven points and pulled down five rebounds against Lackawanna in their previous meeting.
 
Karrin Purchas is fifth on the team, averaging 7.4 points per game, and is shooting around 37% on the year. Purchas is the team-leader in assists at 3.7 per game, and steals at 3.3 per game. Purchas has scored in double-figures in seven contests, and has punished Hagerstown CC in particular, scoring her highest (17) and second-highest (16) against the Hawks this year. Purchas had a season-high nine steals against Monroe College Bronx this season, and had a season-high eight assists against Delaware Tech this season. Purchas had three points and seven assists against Mercer in her last game. Purchas had 13 points, four assists, and four steals against Lackawanna in the last match-up.  
 
Jayla Atkins and Alyssa Herder will also both contribute for the Lady Bears. Atkins is averaging 7.1 points per game this year, and Herder is scoring around six points per game. Atkins is second on the team in free throw shooting at 78%, and is averages around six rebounds per game. Atkins also leads the Lady Bears at 1.2 blocks per game, and averages just under two steals per game. Atkins has hit double-figures seven times this year, with her season-high 12 points coming on four separate occasions. Her season-high of 13 rebounds has also been hit twice this year. Atkins had eight points and five rebounds against Lackawanna in their last game. Meanwhile, Herder is a little more accurate from the field (36%), averages around six rebounds per game, and has only scored in double-figures twice this year. Her season-high of 16 points came against Delaware Tech. Herder has hit double-figures in rebounds four times this year, with her season-high of 11 rebounds coming against Delaware Tech. Herder had five points and eight rebounds against Lackawanna in their last meeting.
 
The head coach for Harcum College is Riley Maye, who joined the Lady Bears as an assistant coach for the 2018-2019 season, before taking over the program soon after that. Maye came to Harcum after serving as the Director of Basketball Operations for Lehigh's men's basketball program, where he'd handle all the logistical and organizational needs for the basketball team. Before his time at Lehigh, Maye was an assistant at Stroudsburg HS for the boys basketball program. Maye is a graduate of Norfolk State University, where he was a part of the Spartan team that won the MEAC and earned an NCAA tournament bid for the first time in program history, as a 14-seed. The Spartans would upset the Missouri Tigers in the first round that year, before falling in the second round.
 
Game Information
The match-up is set for a 5:00pm ET tip-off in the Klein Hall Gymnasium at Harcum College in Bryn Mawr, PA on Wednesday, February 16^th. It's the first game of a doubleheader, with the Harcum men's basketball team hosting Cecil College at 7:00pm ET.
 
Harcum Athletics will be video livestreaming the game live on their YouTube Channel. You can watch that by clicking HERE.
 
Following this game, the Falcons will await their Region XIX postseason fate.