2/24/22
 
SCRANTON, Pa. – The Lackawanna College Women's Basketball team had a stellar defensive effort to win its first playoff game, but the Falcons will need a whole other level of effort to win their next round. The fourth-seeded Falcons travel to Cranford, NJ to take on the top-seeded Union County College Owls in the Region XIX Division II Semi-Finals on Thursday, February 24^th. Tip-off is at 6:00pm ET.
 
This game is one of two Region XIX semi-finals happening, with the other a match-up pitting #3 seed Harcum College on the road against the #2 seed, Essex County College. That game will also tip at 6:00pm ET. The winners of these two semi-finals will meet in the Region XIX Championship Game on Saturday, February 26^th, with the higher seed hosting.  
 
The Falcons are 1-5 against Union since last season, and are 0-2 against the Owls this year. The first match-up was a road contest at Union, where the Owls built a big lead by halftime, and the Falcons could only get as close as seven points in the fourth quarter before Union pulled away and won, 89-70. You can read that recap HERE. The second match-up happened last month when the Falcons hosted Union. Lackawanna fell behind early once again, but a furious comeback pulled the Falcons within a score with under 90 seconds to go. Unfortunately, the Owls were able to once again pull away, winning 60-51 to sweep the season series. Read the recap HERE.
 
About The Falcons
The Falcons (10-11) used some outstanding fourth quarter defense to earn the win in their last game, knocking off Raritan Valley 56-37 in the Region XIX quarterfinal round on Tuesday. The Falcons, despite shooting 31% from the field, managed to get the win by holding Raritan to just three points in the fourth quarter, only giving up one shot in the quarter. Lackawanna also forced 24 turnovers, 17 of which came on steals, to help them overcome the Lions. Nya Morris led the way with 20 points, while McKeyah Duley added 14 points on three three-point shots. Read the recap HERE.
 
Morris is the team-leader for Lackawanna College at 20.6 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 16 of her appearances this year, and has crossed 20+ points on nine 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 2.8 steals per game, averages 6.6 rebounds per game (second on the team) as a guard, and is hitting on 45% of her shots this year. Morris has hit 23 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 eight of her last ten games. Nya scored 20 points and pulled down five rebounds in the quarterfinal win against Raritan Valley. Morris is averaging 16 points and 6.5 rebounds per game in the two games she's played against Union this year.  
 
Gabrielle Jackson is the second-leading scorer on the squad, averaging 10.6 points per game. She has scored double-figures 12 times this season, including her season-high 21 against Union earlier this year. She averages a team-high 3.6 assists per game, and also averages 1.5 steals per contest. Gabby pulls down 3.8 rebounds per game as a guard. She also leads the team in free throws made (45) this year. Jackson is second on the team with 29 steals this year. Jackson had 12 points against Monroe, all in the second half, and has scored in double-figures in five of her last seven games. Gabby had just five points against Raritan Valley in the Region XIX quarterfinal, going just 2-for-15 from the field. Jackson is averaging 13.5 points, 5.5 rebounds, and four assists per game in her two games against Union, including scoring her season-high 21 points at Union in their first match-up.  
 
Ashante Amos is the third-leading scorer at 8.2 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 (3.4). Amos is second on the team with 29 made three-point shots. Ashante scored five points, had three rebounds, and dished out five assists against Raritan in her last game. Amos is averaging four points and two assists per game in her two appearances against Union this year.  
 
McKeyah Duley is the fourth-leading scorer, averaging 8.1 points per game this season. Duley has hit double-figures six 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 37. She also averages 5.7 rebounds per game, third on the squad. Twice she's grabbed her season-high of 12 boards, against both Essex and Catonsville. Duley had 14 points against Raritan in her last game, hitting three three-point shots and pulling down eight rebounds. Duley has scored in double-figures in her last two games. She's averaging 5.5 points and six rebounds per game in her two appearances against Union this season.  
 
Daeja Cromartie is fifth on the team in scoring, as the veteran leader is averaging 5.9 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 8.9 rebounds per game, a team-best. She has hit double-figures in rebounds in eight games this year, but has been stellar as of late. Cromartieis averaging 11 rebounds per game in her last eleven games, hitting double-digits seven times in that span. Daeja scored just one point, but cleaned up on the glass with eleven rebounds, while coming up with her season-best five steals against Raritan. Cromartie is averaging 12.5 points and five rebounds per game in her two appearances against Union, including her 22-point, eight rebound performance in the second game against Union.   
 
Thays Torres will see significant time for the Falcons, and she's averaging 5.5 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 23 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 four points and three rebounds in the win over Raritan in her last appearance. Thays scored two points in both of her appearances against Union this year.
 
Lackawanna College is averaging 65.9 points per game, while shooting at 35.2% overall, and 26.6% from beyond-the-arc. Lackawanna is also shooting at 63% from the free-throw line. The Falcons have a +2 rebounding margin on the season, and have 62 blocks as a team. The Falcons are holding their opponents to 33.7% shooting so far this year, and teams have hit 22.8% of their three-point attempts against the Lackawanna College defense, ranking the Falcons 10^th in the NJCAA Division II. Opponents are averaging 64.2 points per game against the Falcon defense. Lackawanna College is averaging around 20 turnovers per game, but the Falcons are forcing around 19 turnovers per game from their opponents.
 
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 159 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 Union County College Owls (22-3) went undefeated in Region XIX play this year, a perfect 10-0. In fact, the only losses for the Owls this year came against CCBC Essex in three separate match-ups.  Otherwise, the Owls, ranked ninth in the latest NJCAA DII polls, have been dominant. In their last game, the regular season finale against Harford CC, the Owls shot 58% from the field en route to a 105-35 win. Union forced 39 turnovers, 28 on steals, and put five players in double-figures. Samira Sargent and ToniRenee Blanford each had a team-high 21 points, while Nia Mallette added 20 points and seven assists for the Owls.
 
The Owls are averaging 82.7 points per game, while only surrendering 54 points against. Union shoots around 42% from the field, and hits around 29% from downtown, averaging just under six three-point makes per game. Opponents are hitting 37% of their shots, and just 20.8% of their three-point attempts, ranking Union second in the NJCAA DII. The Owls hold a nearly +18 rebound margin, while averaging 13 steals per game. They force their opponents into 17 turnovers per game.  
 
Union County has a balanced attack where four players average double-figures on the year, led by Samira Sargent, scoring 14.8 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 over 2.5 threes-per-game. Sargent leads the team in steals (2.4 per game) and is fourth on the team in assists per game (2.5). She's hit double-figures in 19 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 has hit her season-high of eight assists twice this year, including in the game against Harford CC. In that match-up, she also had five steals to go with her 21 points, hitting 9-for-12 from the floor. Sargent has scored in double-figures in eight of her last nine games. Sargent is averaging 6.5 points and 3.5 rebounds per game in her two appearances against the Falcons, including just three points against Lackawanna College in the second meeting.  
 
Brianna Mills is second on the team at 14.5 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 (2.0) and third on the team in rebounding (6.1 rebounds per game). Mills has hit double-figures 22 times this year, and had a season-high 24 points come against Delaware Tech, where she made eight shots and went 7-for-8 from the free throw line. She's gone over 20 points on six separate appearances, including 20 points against Lackawanna College in the last meeting. Mills has eight double-doubles on the year, including a season-high 13 rebounds against CCBC Essex, and she hit one triple-double, with an 11-point, ten rebound, and a season-high 12-assist performance against Brookdale CC. Mills scored eleven points and had seven assists against Harford in her last game. Mills scored 20 points in both her appearances against Lackawanna, grabbing ten rebounds in each of those games. In the second game at Lackawanna, Mills went 7-for-9 from the free throw line.
 
Nia Mallette is third on the team with 13.4 points per game this year. Mallette hits around 44% from the field, and is third on the team in both three-point shooting (33%) and free throw shooting (78.6%). Mallette is second on the team in assists per game (3.9) and also pulls down just over five rebounds per game, good enough for fourth on the Owls. Mallete has hit double-figures 20 times this year, and has topped 20 points on six separate occasions, four times in her last six games. 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) and steals (5). Mallette has hit her season-high of ten rebounds twice this year, most recently against Brookdale. Mallette has scored in double-figures in her last six games, averaging 18.5 points per game in that span. Mallette had 20 points, seven assists, five steals, and three rebounds in the win over Harford. She's averaging 12 points, five rebounds, and 4.5 assists per game in her two games against Lackawanna this year.  
 
ToniRenee Blanford is fourth on the team at 11.7 points per game. Blanford leads the team in shooting, hitting 54% of her shots this season. Blanford also pulls down 6.8 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 14 times this year, and had her season-high 21 points against Harford CC in her last game. She has four double-doubles on the year, which includes her season-best 15-rebound performance against Essex County College. Blanford has hit double-figures in her last four contests, averaging 17.3 points per game. She had eight points in each of her appearances against Lackawanna College this year.  
 
Rissel Rodriguez is the team leader at 9.1 rebounds per game, while averaging 5.7 points per game this year. Rodriguez is shooting around 51% from the field on the season. Rodriguez had a season-high 15 points against Lackawanna College in their first meeting, 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 four double-doubles on the year, and has hit double-figures in rebounds on 14 different occasions this year. She had a season-high 16 rebounds against Lackawanna in their last game. Rodriguez had four points and 12 rebounds against Harford CC in her last game. Rodriguez is averaging 13 rebounds per game in the pair of games Union played against the Falcons this year.
 
Saja Alston will also see significant minutes, averaging 5.2 points per game this year. Alston is averaging two steals and two assists per game. She's hit double-figures five times this year, scoring her season-best 18 points against CC of Philadelphia. Alston has hit her season-high of seven steals twice this year, including in her last game against Harford CC, where she also had five assists and 12 points. Alston has five points, two rebounds, and five assists in both of her appearances against the Falcons this year.
 
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 113-29 in her five years in charge at Union County.
 
Game Information
The match-up is set for a 6:00pm ET start on Thursday, February 24^th, in the Union County College gymnasium in Cranford, NJ.
 
For those who cannot attend, there will be a video livestream, courtesy of Union's Athletics Department YouTube. You can access their channel HERE.
 
The winner of the semi-final will meet the winner of the other Region XIX semi-final between Harcum College and Essex County College, happening at the same time. The Region XIX Championship Game will happen at on Saturday, February 26^th, at the highest-remaining seed, at a time to be determined.