2/3/22
 
SCRANTON, Pa. – The Lackawanna College Women's Basketball team will look to make it two-in-a-row in Region XIX play when they host the Harcum College Bears on Thursday, February 3^rd, in the Lackawanna Student Union. Tip-off is scheduled for 5:00pm ET, and will be the first game in a doubleheader with the Lackawanna College men.
 
This is the first match-up of the season between the Falcons and the Bears.
 
About The Falcons
The Falcons (7-7, 3-3) got back to .500 with a 60-47 win at Raritan Valley on Tuesday evening. The Falcons struggled with the Lions through three quarters, but scored 21 points in the fourth quarter to give themselves enough of a cushion to win. The Falcons were boosted by big shots from Ny Jackson, McKeyah Duley, and Cianna Roberts down the stretch. Nya Morris was one of two Falcon players in double-figures, leading the team with 20 points and seven steals, while Gabrielle Jackson added 13 points and four steals. The Falcons shot just 35% from the field, but held Raritan to just 31%, including 3-for-15 from downtown, and forced 33 turnovers, including 16 steals.
 
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 ten 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 2.9 steals per game, averages 6.0 rebounds per game (second on the team) as a guard, and is hitting on 47% of her shots this year. Morris has hit 17 three-point shots on the year, third-most on the squad. Morris has scored 20+ points in four of her last five games.
 
Gabrielle Jackson is the second-leading scorer on the squad, averaging 11.2 points per game. She has scored double-figures eight times this season, including her season-high 21 against Union earlier this year. She averages a team-high 3.4 assists per game, and 1.4 steals per contest. Gabby also averages 3.7 rebounds per game as a guard. Jackson is third on the team with 18 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 13 points, four rebounds, four steals, and two assists in the win over Raritan Valley.
 
Ashanté Amos is the third-leading scorer at 8.0 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 (3.2). Amos is second on the team with 20 made three-point shots. Amos hit a pair of three-pointers and pulled down three rebounds against Raritan Valley.
 
McKeyah Duley is the fourth-leading scorer, averaging 7.9 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 23. 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 had eight points and three rebounds in the win 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 seven points, all in the fourth quarter, to help the Falcons knock off Raritan Valley in her last game.  
 
Daeja Cromartie will also see significant time for the Falcons. The veteran leader is averaging 6.5 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 8.2 rebounds per game, a team-best. She has hit double-figures in rebounds in three games this year, and is averaging 11.2 rebounds per game in her last six contests. Daeja did not score, but had a team-high ten rebounds in the win over Raritan Valley.
 
Thays Torres will also see time, and she's averaging 6.4 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 5.4 rebounds per game, and is second 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. She had seven points in just 14 minutes against Mercer, battling foul trouble. Torres had two points and a pair of steals in the win over Raritan Valley.  
 
Lackawanna College, averaging 68.6 points per game, is shooting at 36.4% as a team this season, and has hit 28.3% from beyond-the-arc. Lackawanna is also shooting at 59.5% from the free-throw line. Lackawanna College is even on rebounding margin this season, and has 49 blocks as a team. The Falcons are holding their opponents to 33.4% 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 65.6 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 156 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 (11-9, 3-2) has been firing on all cylinders as of late, as the Lady Bears have won six of their last seven games, including a 49-42 win over Hagerstown CC this past Tuesday. In that game, Harcum overcame an early seven-point deficit and a sluggish first half to score 32 points in the second half, helping the Lady Bears to pull away with the win. Harcum shot just 30% from the field, including just 2-for-22 from downtown, but had 19 offensive rebounds and had 14 steals, as a team. Karrin Purchas led the team with 16 points off the bench, while Courtney Turner pulled down a team-high 16 rebounds, including six offensive boards, while scoring nine points. Jayla Atkins added eight points and four steals for the Lady Bears.
 
On the year, Harcum is averaging around 66 points per game this year, while only giving up 60.2. The Lady Bears are shooting around 36% from the field, but are just 22% from downtown this year. Opposing teams, meanwhile, are hitting 37% and 31%, respectively, against the Harcum defense. The Lady Bears are even on rebounding margin, though they are averaging an extra four offensive rebounds per game, versus their opponents. The Lady Bears are forcing around 22 turnovers per game, and average around 12 steals per contest.
 
Courtney Turner is one of three players averaging double-figures for the Lady Bears this year, and she leads the pack with 12.2 points per game. Turner is hitting around 54% of her shots this season, and is second on the team at 72% from the free throw line. Turner leads the team in rebounding at 11.5 rebounds per game, including 5.3 offensive rebounds per game. Turner, after missing the first seven games of the year, has hit double-figures in eight of her 12 appearances this year. Her season-high 21 points came against Monroe College, where she went 7-for-11 from the floor and hit all seven of her free throws. Turner had a season-high nine makes against RCSJ Gloucester earlier this year. Turner has eight double-doubles on the year, and has hit her season-high in rebounds twice in her last three games, including the 16 rebounds she had against Hagerstown. Turner is averaging 15.8 points per game and 14.4 rebounds per game in her last five contests.
 
Jasmyn Jefferies is second on the team at 11.1 points per game this year. Jefferies leads the team in three-point shooting at 37.5%, and is second on the team with 3.4 assists per game. Jefferies is second on the team in steals, at 2.8 steals per contest. Jefferies has scored in double-figures six times this year, but hasn't hit double-figures in her last six appearances. 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 just two points and had one rebound against Hagerstown CC.
 
Macy Brackett is third on the team at an even ten points per game. Brackett has played exclusively in the spring semester, shooting 50% from the field and hitting just shy of 70% from the charity stripe. Brackett is third on the team with 2.5 steals per game, and is averaging just over three rebounds per game. She has scored in double-figures in four of her six appearances this year, including her season-high 15 points against Monroe College. She's made six field goals in a game twice this season, and had a season-high six steals in her first game against Harford College. Brackett had five points, four rebounds, and two assists against Hagerstown CC.
 
Aniyah Bond is fourth on the team with 8.6 points per game this year. Bond is hitting around 38% from the field, and is averaging around 4.5 rebounds per contest. Bond has scored in double-figures in six 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 eight points and six rebounds in the win against Hagerstown CC.
 
Karrin Purchas is fifth on the team, averaging 7.6 points per game, and is shooting around 38% on the year. Purchas is the team-leader in assists at 3.6 per game, and steals at 3.4 per game. Purchas has scored in double-figures in six 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.
 
Jayla Atkins and Alyssa Herder will also both contribute for the Lady Bears. Atkins is averaging 6.8 points per game this year, and Herder is scoring around 6.1 per game. Atkins leads the team in free throw shooting at 75%, and is tied, coincidentally with Herder, for the team-lead in rebounding at 6.2 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 six 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. Meanwhile, Herder is a little more accurate from the field (36%), 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 twice this year, with her season-high of 11 rebounds coming against Delaware Tech.
 
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 Lackawanna Student Union, as the first game of a doubleheader. The game is open to the public, and tickets will be sold at the door for adults ($5) and students ($3). Lackawanna College students get free admission with their college ID. Fans are reminded that current Lackawanna College policy is for all spectators in the gym to be masked. For more on the policy, click HERE.
 
For those who cannot attend the game, there will be a video livestream available on the Lackawanna College Athletics YouTube Channel at www.lackawannafalcons.com/YouTube. Steve Young will have the play-by-play, while Sports Information Director Tom Ferguson will provide color commentary.
 
The Falcons will be back home on Sunday, February 6^th, when they host Niagara County CC in the second game between the two this season. Game time is set for 1:00pm ET at the Lackawanna Student Union.