11/16/23

SCRANTON, Pa. -- Two double-digit runs in the second and third quarters were both enough to carry Lackawanna College women's basketball to its first win of the season, 71-61, over in-state rival Northampton CC on Thursday evening in a Region XIX divisional crossover contest at the Lackawanna College Student Union.
 
The Falcons (1-3) used two big runs in the middle quarters to seize the lead and never give it up. Lackawanna played particularly well in the second quarter, outscoring Northampton (5-1) 23-14 in the frame, while shooting 47% from the field and making all six of its free throw attempts. All-in-all, the Falcons shot 32% for the game, and were 18-for-31 from the free throw line. They committed only 17 turnovers, while forcing 31, and put three players in double-figures, with Desiree White (First Year; Carlisle, PA) leading the way with a team-best 17 points and four assists. E'Ternity Aiken (First Year; Wilkes-Barre, PA) had 16 points and eleven rebounds for her first career double-double, while Nariyah Turner (Sophomore; Philadelphia, PA) had a great all-around performance, with eleven points, ten rebounds, and six assists in the win. Xenia Gillis led Northampton with 20 points and 14 rebounds, while Zoe Cruz added 14 points and four rebounds.  
 
Lackawanna trailed 15-14 after the first quarter, and were tied at 17 with the DIII #9 Spartans at the 8:36 mark in the second quarter, when a lay-up from Aiken ignited a 14-3 run over the next five minutes of game play, lengthening the Lackawanna lead out to double-digits, before Northampton got it to within eight at the halftime break.
 
Another run was started when White canned a jumper in the paint, then hit a three-pointer in transition for the first five points in a ten-point run to open the second half, as the Falcons built an 18-point advantage at 47-29 inside the first two minutes of the third quarter. It would be a lead that would never truly be threatened, as Lackawanna's advantage only dipped as low as eight points in the final three minutes of the game, but the Falcons pushed it back out to 13 a minute later, all but sealing the victory.
 
Lackawanna secured its first win of the 2023-2024 campaign, and the Falcons will look to make it two in a row when they travel to take on Niagara County Community College in the first game of the Niagara Tip-Off Classic this weekend on Saturday, November 18^th. Tip is set for a 1:00pm ET start in Sanborn, NY.