11/21/24
 
SCRANTON, Pa. – Lackawanna College women's basketball will look for its second win in Region XIX DII play on Thursday, November 21^st, but it won't be easy, as the Falcons are set to host the #13 Harcum College Bears inside the historic Lackawanna College Student Union gymnasium.
 
The game is scheduled to tip-off at 5:00pm ET and will be the first game of a doubleheader, with the men's teams competing afterwards at 7:00pm ET. The games are open to the public, and tickets will be sold at the door for adults ($5) and students ($3). Attendees with Lackawanna College IDs will gain free entry to the gymnasium. There is also a pay-per-view video livestream available via the Lackawanna College Athletics Network at lackawannafalcons.com/LIVE.
 
About Lackawanna College
The Falcons (4-2, 1-0) enter the game after taking down Essex County College in their Region XIX DII opener on Tuesday night, getting a career-high 42 points from Jayla South (Long Pond, PA) as the Falcons put up 113 in a 113-76 win on the road. Lackawanna shot 45% from the floor and hit 13 three-pointers in the win, posting 16 steals in the win. Essex shot 43% from the floor and made 23-of-32 free throws on the night. South's 42 points are the most a women's basketball player has scored for Lackawanna since Keona Dessau had 44 points on November 30^th, 2000. The 113 points scored by Lackawanna is the most the Falcons have scored since scoring 115 against Mercer County CC in December 2019.
 
Through six games, the Falcons are averaging 75.5 points per game, while giving up 69.5 points per game against. Lackawanna is shooting 36.9% from the floor this season, while shooting 23.5% from three-point range. The Falcons have also struggled from the line, hitting just 54% of their attempts. Lackawanna's opponents are hitting 36.5% from the floor and have hit 30% of their three-point shots. Lackawanna has a +1.3 rebounding margin, averaging 44.8 boards per game. The Falcons are averaging 17.2 turnovers per game, while forcing 19.2 this year. Lackawanna averages 12 steals per contest, while its opponents average 9.3 swipes per game. Lackawanna is averaging four blocks per game.
 
Sophomore forward Salote Franklin (Philadelphia, PA) leads the team with 19.3 points per game through her six appearances. Salote is shooting 45.1% from the floor and averaging a team-high 11.2 rebounds per game. She also has 14 steals, second on the team. Salote had 30 points in the season-opening victory against CCBC Catonsville back on November 1^st, shooting 13-for-21 from the floor, while pulling down eight rebounds. She set a season-high for rebounds with 18 in the win against Richard Bland College on November 2^nd, putting up 19 points for her first double-double of the season. Salote has scored in double-figures in five of her six games this year and has three double-doubles on the year. Franklin had 14 points, ten rebounds, and eight assists in the win against Essex on Tuesday night.
 
Sophomore guard Jayla South (Long Pond, PA) is second on the team with 14.8 points per game this season. South is shooting just 31.3% and has made a team-best eight three-point shots through the early going. She averages seven rebounds per game, tied for third on the team, and has 22 assists, tops on the squad, along with 12 steals so far this season. South has scored in double-figures in four games so far this season, scoring her season and career-high with her 42 points against Essex on Tuesday, making 15 shots and hitting six three-pointers in the win. She also had eight rebounds and season-highs in assists (7) and steals (5).
 
Sophomore guard Desiree White (Carlisle, PA) is third on the team with 14.7 points per game through her first three, hitting a team-high seven three-point shots and shooting 32.6% from the floor to start the season. White averages four rebounds a game and has five steals through her first three contests. Desi has hit double-figures twice this year, scoring her season-high in the loss to Montgomery, where she had 26 points, including four three-pointers and six free throws, along with three steals. Against Catonsville, she had 13 points and four boards. Desi led the team last season, averaging 16.9 points per game and hitting a team-high 40 three-pointers. She did not play in the last three games for the Falcons.
 
First-year guard Ania Crocker (Freeport, NY) is averaging 14.2 points per game this season, shooting 41.9% from the floor. Crocker is averaging 5.8 rebounds per game and has 16 assists and a team-high 16 steals this year. She's also second on the team with six rejections this year. Crocker scored her season-high against Jamestown on November 16^th, exploding for 28 points and a season-best 13 rebounds in the win this past Saturday. Crocker went 13-for-23 from the floor. She set a season-high with seven steals against Richard Bland College on November 2^nd, where she also set her season-high with five assists. Crocker matched that season-high with five assists against Essex on Tuesday, scoring 26 points, grabbing five rebounds, and posting four steals in the win.
 
Sophomore forward E'ternity Aiken (Wilkes-Barre, PA) has 19 points through two games, 15 of which came in the win against Richard Bland College. Aiken is 7-for-13 (53.8%) from the floor and has 14 rebounds through two games. She also has five steals. Aiken had 15 points and eleven boards in the win against Richard Bland College. She also had four steals and a pair of assists. She has missed the last four games for the Falcons.
 
Sophomore forward Saraiah Franklin (Philadelphia, PA) is averaging 6.5 points and eight rebounds per game through her six appearances. Franklin is shooting 42.1% from the floor and has 16 assists on the year. Saraiah had one of her best games of the year against Essex on Tuesday, setting season-highs with points (14) and assists (5), along with matching her season-highs in rebounds (12) and steals (3).
 
Head coach Monica Spence is in her third season at the helm of the Falcons. Spence spent a year as an assistant before taking over the program in 2022. Before her time at Lackawanna, Spence spent time coaching at youth levels and in semi-professional men's basketball. Spence is a Wilkes-Barre native, who played her high school basketball locally at Wilkes-Barre GAR. Spence is 25-27 in her time as the head coach for the Falcons.
 
About Harcum College
The Bears (4-2, 1-1) come into the game ranked #13 in the latest NJCAA Division II rankings, and have split a pair of Region XIX DII games this year. Harcum dropped a road game at #4 Union College earlier this season, then won earlier this week at home against Salem CC, 114-53, on Tuesday night. The Bears shot 52.6% from the floor and made a season-high 25 free throws in the victory. Harcum scored 70 points in the first half, putting up 32 in the first quarter and 38 in the second to lead 70-22 at the break. Seven different players scored in double-figures and the Bears had 33 steals.
 
Harcum is averaging 75.2 points per game this season, shooting 37% from the floor and making 27% from downtown. The Bears are giving up 60.5 points per game on the year, while their opponents are shooting 33.9% from the floor and 21.8% from the three-point line. The Bears have a +8.0 rebounding margin, pulling down 37.3 rebounds per contest this season. The Bears average 15.3 steals per game, and are at 11.2 assists per game this year, while turning it over an average of 21 times per contest.
 
Sophomore forward Kelsey Bess leads the team with 13 points per game this year, shooting just 29% from the floor, but making a team-best eleven three-point shots this year and leading the Bears in makes (23) and attempts (30) from the free throw line, shooting 76.7% from the line. Bess averages 5.5 rebounds per game, third on the team, and averages 1.7 assists per game and 1.5 steals per game this season. Bess has scored in double-figures five times this season, with her season-best 21 points coming in the win against Mesa CC on November 16^th. She was 9-for-12 from the free throw line and had five rebounds in the win. Bess has one double-double this year, going for her season-high ten rebounds and 15 points in the loss to CCBC Essex on November 16^th. Bess had season-highs in assists (7) and steals (6) against Bryant & Stratton to open the year on November 4^th. She had ten points and seven boards in the win against Salem this past week.
 
Sophomore guard Bryce Havey-Carr is second on the team with 10.5 points per game, shooting 39% from the floor and hitting 27% from downtown this season. Harvey-Carr leads the team in assists (2.5) and steals (2.7) per game this year, and averages 2.5 rebounds per contest. She has three games in double-figures scoring this season, with a season-high 19 points coming in the opener against Bryant & Stratton. She has had a season-high four assists in three separate games, and set a season-high against Salem with seven steals earlier this week. She also had 16 points, four assists, and three rebounds in the win against the Mighty Oaks.
 
Sophomore forward Deborah Okechukwu is third on the team with 9.2 points per game, shooting at 35% on the season. Okechukwu leads the team with 6.6 rebounds per game this season. She has two games in double-digit points, scoring her season-high 17 points against Salem CC earlier this week, where she was 7-for-8 from the free throw line. She also had five rebounds and a season-best four steals in the win. She had a double-double against St. Clair County CC on November 14^th, scoring eleven and pulling down a season-high eleven rebounds.
 
First-year guard Sofia Vitucci is averaging 8.8 points per game this season, shooting 37.5% from the floor this year. Vitucci averages 6.2 rebounds per game, while dishing out 1.5 assists and averaging 2.5 steals per game. Vitucci has three games in double-figures this year, scoring her season-high 19 points in the win against Salem earlier this week. She was 7-for-12 from the floor and hit a pair of three-pointers. She also had eight rebounds, four assists, and a season-best six steals against the Mighty Oaks. She set her season-high in rebounding with nine boards against Bryant & Stratton.
 
The head coach is Garrett Horton, in his first season at the helm for the Bears. Horton served as the Associate Head Coach last season for Harcum, helping lead the Bears to their seventh-place national ranking. His coaching career and experience is over the past decade, and he's the owner of Primetime Development Basketball Training, helping young players move on to four-year institutions at various levels.
 
The Match-Ups
Thursday night's game is scheduled to tip-off at 5:00pm ET inside the Lackawanna College Student Union gymnasium, and will be the first game of a doubleheader, with the men's teams competing afterwards at 7:00pm ET. The games are open to the public, and tickets will be sold at the door for adults ($5) and students ($3). Attendees with Lackawanna College IDs will gain free entry to the gymnasium. There is also a pay-per-view video livestream available via the Lackawanna College Athletics Network at lackawannafalcons.com/LIVE.
 
The Falcons continue their Region XIX DII schedule with a road game this Saturday, November 23^rd, as Lackawanna travels to take on Delaware Tech CC in Newark, DE. Tip is set for a 1:00pm ET start at the Del Tech gymnasium on the Stanton campus. The game will be the first of two, with the men's teams following at 3:00pm ET.