11/1/24
 
CATONSVILLE, Md. – Salote Franklin made up for lost time in a big way, scoring a game-high 30 points and pulling down eight rebounds as Lackawanna College women's soccer opened its season with a 76-73 win on the road at CCBC Catonsville on Friday evening in the first game of the Catonsville Tip-Off Classic.
 
The Falcons (1-0) exacted a bit of revenge on a Catonsville squad that beat them by 36 to open last year, and Salote Franklin (Philadelphia, PA), who was ineligible all of last year, was not about to sit back and watch it happen again. Franklin scored 18 points in the first half, 12 in the second alone, and was one of three Falcons with double-digits on the night. A lay-up with 6:30 to go in the game made it 66-55, Falcons, but the home side Catonsville started to mount a comeback over the next five minutes, eventually taking a 69-68 lead with 1:40 to play. Franklin made a lay-up with 1:21 to go, but two free throws from Catonsville gave the Cards the lead at 71-70 with 1:06 to play. Franklin scored back-to-back buckets with under a minute to play to give the Falcons a 74-71 lead, but two free throws got the Cardinals within a point at 15 seconds to play. Kalea Ferguson (Harrisburg, PA) was on the line to try to ice the game, but missed both free throws. The miss was deflected out of bounds, giving possession to the Falcons, and Ferguson scored a bucket off the subsequent inbounds pass to make it a three-point lead for the Falcons, who forced a foul and a turnover, then ran out the clock for the eventual win.
 
Aside from Franklin's great game, Desiree White (Carlisle, PA) finished with 13 points, making three three-point shots, and Jayla South (Long Pond, PA) had eleven points and six rebounds. Ania Crocker (Freeport, NY) came off the bench to score eight points, and the Falcons shot 42% for the game, making four-of-six three-pointers. Lackawanna forced 17 turnovers, while only committing ten of their own, and the Falcons had eight steals on the night. Lackawanna had 40 points in the paint, and had 18 points from turnovers and 13 second-chance points. Catonsville shot 37.5%, but was 28-for-36 from the free throw line. The Cardinals had 24 points in the paint, and had four players in double-figures, led by Serafina Stubbs scoring 18 points, going 16-for-16 at the free throw line. Jocelyn Fogle had a double-double with 14 points and 12 rebounds.
 
Franklin scored the first bucket of the game for the Falcons, and ended the first with six points, while the Falcons took a 15-12 lead into the second quarter after Jayla South (Long Pond, PA) grabbed an offensive board off a missed free throw and went back up with the lay-up with 14 seconds remaining.
 
Franklin really started cooking in the second, scoring on a put-back to start the quarter, then knocking down two free throws to expand the Lackawanna lead to seven at 19-12. Later in the quarter, with Lackawanna ahead 27-23, Franklin stepped into a three-pointer off an assist from Ania Crocker (Freeport, NY), burying the shot to give Lackawanna a 30-23 lead. She added a traditional three-point play just a minute later, scoring through contact and making the free throw to give the Falcons their largest lead to that point at ten, 33-23, with 3:47 to play in the half. She added another lay-up to finish with 12 points in the quarter, but Catonsville did its best to close the gap, getting it to a five-point deficit at the break.
 
The third saw the Falcons' lead yo-yo between eight and four points throughout the quarter, with each team trading baskets back-and-forth. Lackawanna ended the quarter with a three-pointer from White, off an assist from South, making it 57-50, Falcons, and setting up the exciting fourth quarter finish.
 
Lackawanna is 1-0 for the first time since the 2021-2022 season, and the win over Catonsville is the first in three tries against the Cardinals to open the year. The Falcons are back to action on Saturday, November 2^nd, with a 12:00pm ET tip at the Catonsville Classic against Richard Bland College.