2/3/22
 
SCRANTON, Pa. – The Lackawanna College Women's Basketball team couldn't get their offense up-and-running late, as the Harcum College Lady Bears rallied from an early deficit and hit six three-pointers in the second half to win, 66-50, over Lackawanna College on Thursday night at the Lackawanna Student Union.
 
The Falcons (7-8, 3-4) struggled from the field in the second half, shooting 24% from the floor, and going 1-for-12 from beyond-the-arc, while the Lady Bears (12-9, 4-2) overcame their sluggish first half with a 43-point second half, including 25 points in the fourth quarter. Lackawanna College shot 32% overall, but was just 2-for-18 from three-point land, and had 22 turnovers as a team.
 
Nya Morris provided the Falcon firepower, scoring 26 points, and Ashanté Amos scored 14 points, including both three-point shots for Lackawanna College. Courtney Turner led the Lady Bears with 15 points and 12 rebounds, while Karrin Purchas scored 13 points, and Jasmyn Jefferies added 11 points for Harcum.
 
Lackawanna College raced to a 9-1 lead four minutes into the opening quarter, and held an 11-3 lead with four minutes to play in the first, with Morris scoring seven of those eleven. Harcum would respond with an 8-2 run, with the Falcons only points coming from the free throw line, to make it 13-11, Falcons, after one quarter.
 
An Amos three-pointer sparked the Falcons early in the second, as Lackawanna opened the second on a 7-2 run of their own to make it 20-13 at the 6:26 mark of the second quarter. An Amos jumper at 5:53 made it 22-13, the largest lead of the night for the Falcons. Harcum would slowly start to get back inch back into it, forcing bad shots and turnovers with a zone defense that stymied the Falcons, and giving themselves a bit of a boost to close within 28-24 at halftime.
 
Both teams labored mightily in the early stages of the third quarter, trading buckets back-and-forth, with the Falcons still holding a four-point lead past the five-minute mark of the third. A Morris coast-to-coast bucket made it 34-28 Falcons with 4:30 to play in the third, but that would be the last bucket for Lackawanna for nearly four minutes of game time, as the Harcum Lady Bears ratcheted up the defensive pressure.
 
A Jefferies free-throw, followed by a Purchas three, made it 34-32, Falcons, with 3:34 to go in the third. An empty possession from the Falcons was followed by an Alyssa Herder three from the corner, giving the Bears their first lead of the contest at 35-34. After a Lackawanna timeout, the Falcons couldn't score on their ensuing possession, and the Lady Bears made them pay with another corner three-pointer. The Falcons missed on the other end once again, and Aniyah Bond buried a three from the opposite corner, which made it 41-34 with 1:07 to play. The Falcons finally responded with a bucket at the 52-second mark of the third, but the momentum was firmly on the Lady Bears side heading into the fourth quarter.
 
After both teams traded points to start the fourth, a Gabrielle Jackson drive drew a foul, sending her to the line to knock down a pair of free throws to make it 43-40, Harcum, with 8:36 to play in the game. A big offensive rebound from Daeja Cromartie, who finished in double-digit rebounds once again with ten boards, resulted in a three-pointer from Ashanté Amos in the left corner, making it 43-all with 8:22 to play. A Purchas lay-up was answered by Morris to make it 45-all with 7:55 to play, but the Falcons would fall victim to another ill-timed scoring drought. Harcum would use a 13-0 run over the next 3:46 to take a double-digit lead at 58-45, getting three-pointers from Jayla Atkins and Turner in the process, to put the Falcons in a hole they would never climb out of.
 
A Thays Torres runner would stop the bleeding at 4:09, but Turner and Jefferies went on another run of their own, until Harcum held their largest lead at 64-47 with 1:03 to play. From there, the Falcons would get a Torres jumper and a Morris free throw before time ran out.
 
Lackawanna College will look to rebound on Sunday, February 6^th, when they welcome Niagara County CC to the Lackawanna Student Union for a Sunday matinee tip at 1:00pm ET.