11/26/24
 
SCRANTON, Pa. – Lackawanna College women's basketball has one more important Region XIX clash before the Falcons can turn their attention to turkey and Thanksgiving, and it comes in the form of #4 Union College (NJ) coming to town on Tuesday, November 26^th.
 
The game is scheduled to tip-off at 5:00pm ET inside the historic Lackawanna College Student Union gymnasium and will be a match-up between the two top teams in the early part of the Region XIX DII season. The event will be open to the public, with tickets being sold at the door for adults ($5) and students ($3). Those with valid Lackawanna College IDs will also gain free access. There will be a pay-per-view video livestream available via the Lackawanna College Athletics Network at lackawannafalcons.com/LIVE.
 
About Lackawanna College
The Falcons (6-2, 3-0) have won three straight games, including knocking off then-#13 Harcum College last Thursday by a 76-72 margin at home. The Falcons rallied from down nine early, took a seven-point lead in the third, saw that evaporate, and then held on through a back-and-forth fourth quarter to come away with the victory. Lackawanna won its latest game, an 81-51 victory on the road at Delaware Tech CC. That was a game where Lackawanna built a big early lead, saw it close to within eight points early in the second half, then ramped it back up to double-digits and ran away for the win. Four players scored in double-figures for the Falcons in the victory.
 
Through eight games, the Falcons are averaging 76.3 points per game, while giving up 67.5 points per game against. Lackawanna is shooting 37.5% from the floor this season, while shooting 24.6% from three-point range. The Falcons have also struggled from the line, hitting just 56.6% of their attempts. Lackawanna's opponents are hitting 36% from the floor and have hit 28% of their three-point shots. Lackawanna has a +1.0 rebounding margin, averaging 45.1 boards per game. The Falcons are averaging 17.6 turnovers per game, while forcing 21 per game this year. Lackawanna averages 12.5 steals per contest, while its opponents average 8.9 swipes per game. Lackawanna is averaging 4.1 blocks per game.
 
Sophomore forward Salote Franklin (Philadelphia, PA) leads the team with 18 points per game through her eight appearances. Salote is shooting 45.6% from the floor and averages a team-high 11.3 rebounds per game. She also has 19 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 seven of her eight games this year and has five double-doubles on the year. She set a season-high with eight assists in the win against Essex on Tuesday, November 19^th. Franklin had 15 points, 12 rebounds, seven assists, and a season-high five steals in the win against Delaware Tech on Saturday.
 
Sophomore guard Jayla South (Long Pond, PA) is second on the team with 14.9 points per game this season. South is shooting 33.8% and has made a team-best ten three-point shots through the early going. She averages 6.8 rebounds per game, third on the team, and has 26 assists, tops on the squad, along with 17 steals so far this season. South has scored double-figures in six games so far this season, scoring her season and career-high with her 42 points against Essex last 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). Against Del Tech, South had 18 points and eight rebounds in the win, adding three assists, three steals, and two blocks.
 
Sophomore guard Desiree White (Carlisle, PA) is third on the team with 14.7 points per game through her first three, hitting 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 five games for the Falcons.
 
First-year guard Ania Crocker (Freeport, NY) is averaging 14.6 points per game this season, shooting 40.9% from the floor. Crocker is averaging 6.3 rebounds per game and has 23 assists and a team-high 23 steals this year. She's also tied for second on the team with seven 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 on November 16^th. Crocker went 13-for-23 from the floor in the win. 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. Ania scored 17 points, six rebounds, five assists, and four steals in the win against Del Tech on Saturday.
 
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 six games for the Falcons.
 
Sophomore forward Saraiah Franklin (Philadelphia, PA) is averaging 9.3 points and 8.4 rebounds per game through her eight appearances. Franklin is shooting 49.1% from the floor and has 18 assists on the year. Saraiah had one of her best games of the year against Essex on Tuesday, scoring 14 points and setting a season-high in assists (5), along with matching her season-highs in rebounds (12) and steals (3). Against Harcum, she had a season-best 23 points, scoring 13 in the fourth alone, while going 8-for-9 from the free throw line and pulling down eleven rebounds. She had 12 points and eight rebounds in the win against Del Tech on Saturday. She has two double-doubles on the season.
 
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 27-27 in her time as the head coach for the Falcons.
 
About Union College (NJ)
The #4 Owls (7-0, 5-0) have been untested through their first seven games, winning every contest by double-digits, including a 13-point win at home against Harcum College in a game that was a little more lopsided than the final score would indicate. Union won its last game this past Thursday, 100-40 over Middlesex College, shooting 42.7% from the floor, putting up 33 steals, and forcing 37 total turnovers from the Colts. Union put three players in double-figures and outrebounded Middlesex by a 57-34 margin.
 
Union is averaging 93.9 points per game this season, shooting 42.7% from the floor and hitting 26% from downtown. The Owls are giving up a stout 49 points per game this year, allowing opponents to shoot 35.1% from the floor and hitting 22% from three-point range. Union is outrebounding its opponents by a +17.7 margin, averaging 50 rebounds per game this year, which includes 22.6 offensive boards per game. Union's opponents are averaging 26 turnovers per game, while the Owls are averaging 24.3 steals per contest.
 
Sophomore Destiny Bynum Johnson leads the team at 21.9 points per game this year, shooting 44.4% from the floor and hitting 27.9% from deep. Bynum Johnson is second on the team at 7.7 rebounds per game and is third on the team with 3.1 assists per game. She's second on the squad with 3.9 steals per contest. She's scored in double-figures in every game this season, which includes a season-high 33 points on the road at Essex County College on November 7^th, hitting a season-best 13 shots and knocking down four three-point shots. She has three double-doubles on the year, putting up her season-high 12 rebounds against Richard Bland College on November 1^st. She had 22 points, eleven rebounds, and a season-best seven assists in the win at Mercer County CC on November 19^th. Her season-high seven steals came in the win against Delaware Tech on November 12^th. Against Middlesex, she had 20 points, six rebounds, and four assists in the win last Thursday.
 
First-year forward Hellary De Los Santos is averaging 12.7 points per game, second on the team. She's shooting 54% from the floor and hitting 75% from the free throw line. De Los Santos averages 9.9 rebounds per game, far and away the team-high, along with 2.3 steals per game and 1.6 assists per contest. De Los Santos has four games in double-figures this season, putting up a season-high 25 points on 8-for-18 shooting and 9-for-10 from the free throw line in the win against Harcum on November 9^th. She has four double-doubles this season, and her season-high in rebounds came against Harcum with 17 boards. She also set her season-best with five steals against the Bears. De Los Santos had 12 points, 13 rebounds, four steals, and three assists in the win against Middlesex.
 
First-year forward Saran Camara is tied for third on the team at 9.3 points per game this year, shooting 47.3% from the floor and hitting a team-best 85.7% from the free throw line through the early going. Camara averages 2.1 rebounds per game and 2.4 steals per game this season. Camara has four double-digit scoring games this season, scoring her season-best 17 points in the opener against Richard Bland College on November 1^st. She had 12 points and a season-high six steals in the win against Essex on November 7^th. Camara had 15 points, four rebounds, and three steals in the win against Middlesex.
 
Sophomore guard Ore Ogunwolere is tied with Camara for third on the team at 9.3 points per game this season, shooting 47.3% from the floor and hitting 25% from downtown. Ogunwolere leads the squad at 4.1 assists per game this season, along with a team-high 4.3 steals per game, and averages 3.7 rebounds per contest this year. She has crossed double-digits in scoring three times this season, including her season-high 15 points against Delaware Tech CC on November 12^th. Ogunwolere had five points and a season-best six assists against Richard Bland College on November 1^st and set a season-high with ten steals to secure a double-double against Mercer County CC on November 19^th. She had nine points, five assists, four rebounds, and four steals in the win against Midldesex last Thursday.
 
The head coach is Marbely Montas, now in her eighth season as the head coach of the Owls. Montas is a Union College legend on the women's basketball side, starting her career at Union as a player in 2005. Montas was named All-America, then moved on to Monmouth University on a full ride. After her time at Monmouth, she joined the Dominican Republic National Team, helping lead the DR to a Centro Americanos competition silver medal. She also became the second-leading scorer in DR history. She returned to New Jersey to pursue a master's in Business Administration from Kean University, and joined the Union staff as an assistant in 2011, helping the Owls to six Region tournament appearances and a pair of Region XIX championships, with the latter in 2015 culminating in the program's first appearance in the NJCAA DII Women's Basketball tournament. Since taking over in 2017, Montas has gone 174-43, with six Region XIX championships, six NJCAA DII tournament appearances, and two championship game appearances in her first two seasons ('17-'18, '18-'19). Montas also serves as the Union College Director of Athletics.
 
The Matchups
Tuesday's game between Lackawanna and Union is scheduled to tip-off at 5:00pm ET inside the historic Lackawanna College Student Union gymnasium and will be a match-up between the two top teams in the early part of the Region XIX DII season. Lackawanna has lost nine of its last ten games against Union College.
 
The event will be open to the public, with tickets being sold at the door for adults ($5) and students ($3). Those with valid Lackawanna College IDs will also gain free access. There will be a pay-per-view video livestream available via the Lackawanna College Athletics Network at lackawannafalcons.com/LIVE.
 
The next game for the Falcons will be next Tuesday, December 3^rd, when Lackawanna is scheduled to travel to take on Raritan Valley CC in Region XIX DII action. Tip-off is scheduled for 5:00pm ET in Branchburg, NJ.