1/13/25
 
SCRANTON, Pa. – Lackawanna College women's basketball is up to four straight wins, and now the Falcons will look to make it five, while also getting off to a good start in the second half of Region XIX DII play, with a home contest against Essex County College on Tuesday, January 14^th.
 
Tip-off is scheduled for 5:00pm ET inside the historic Lackawanna College Student Union gymnasium. It's the second game of a doubleheader, with the men's teams playing afterwards at 7:00pm ET. The games are open to the public, with tickets sold at the door for adults ($5) and students ($3). Anyone with a valid Lackawanna College ID will gain free admission. There will also be a pay-per-view video livestream available via the Lackawanna College Athletics Network at lackawannafalcons.com/LIVE.
 
About Lackawanna College
The Falcons (10-4, 6-2) are currently in second place in the Region XIX Division II standings, sitting at 6-2 through the first half of the schedule. Their only losses came to DII #4 Union College and to Raritan Valley CC, which sits at fifth in the region. Lackawanna College has won four straight games, including its first game of the 2025 part of the season, knocking off D3 #14 Herkimer CC this past Saturday by a 76-58 score on the road. The Falcons took an early lead against the Generals and never relented, holding a double-digit lead through almost all of the second half. Lackawanna shot 33.3% from the floor and hit just 21.4% of its three-pointers, but the Falcons forced 15 turnovers, 14 coming on steals, and outrebounded Herkimer 57-46, including 23 offensive rebounds. Four starters scored double-figures for the Falcons.
 
This season, the Falcons are averaging 71.4 points per game, while giving up 69 points per game against. Lackawanna is shooting 35% from the floor this season, while shooting 23.5% from three-point range. The Falcons have also struggled from the free throw line, but have gotten better this season, hitting 59.9% of their attempts. Lackawanna's opponents are hitting 36.3% from the floor and have hit 30.6% of their three-point shots. Lackawanna has a +2.8 rebounding margin, averaging 46.1 boards per game. The Falcons are averaging 20.1 turnovers per game, while forcing 19.4 per game this year. Lackawanna averages 12.1 steals per contest, while its opponents average 10.7 swipes per game. Lackawanna is averaging 4.1 blocks per game.
 
Sophomore forward Salote Franklin (Philadelphia, PA) leads the team with 17.1 points per game this season, eighth in the region and third in DII. Salote is shooting 45.9% from the floor and averages a team-high 11.5 rebounds per game, second in DII. She also has 34 steals, tied for first 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 23 boards and 28 points in the win against Salem last month. Salote was 15-for-16 from the free throw line in the contest, going 8-for-8 in the fourth quarter alone, to help secure the win. Salote has scored double-figures in 13 games this year and has nine double-doubles on the year. She set a season-high with eight assists in the win against Essex on November 19^th, where she also had 14 points and ten boards. Franklin had 15 points, 12 rebounds, seven assists, and a season-high five steals in the win against Delaware Tech on November 23^rd. Salote also leads the Falcons with 19 blocks this year. She had 13 points and 13 rebounds, along with five assists, three steals, and three blocks, in the win against Herkimer on January 11^th.
 
Sophomore guard Jayla South (Long Pond, PA) is second on the team with 13.2 points per game this season, tenth in Region XIX DII. South is shooting 32.9% and has made 14 three-point shots, tied for the team lead this season. She averages 6.3 rebounds per game, fourth on the team, and has 37 assists, second on the squad, along with 30 steals so far this season. South has scored double-figures in eleven games so far this season, scoring her season and career-high with 42 points against Essex on November 19^th, 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). Jayla set a season-high for rebounds with eleven boards and 12 points in the loss to Montgomery back on November 12^th. She matched that season-high in rebounds with eleven, along with seven points and four assists, in the win against Herkimer.
 
Sophomore guard Desiree White (Carlisle, PA) is third on the team with 13 points per game through her nine appearances, missing five games due to injury earlier this year. White has hit 14 three-point shots, tied with South for first on the team, and is shooting 33.1% from the floor. White averages three rebounds a game and has seven steals. Desi has hit double-figures four times this year, scoring her season-high in her last game, posting 28 points on a season-best ten makes. She hit three three-pointers, made five free throws, and had a pair of assists and a pair of rebounds in the win against Herkimer. Against Catonsville, she had 13 points and four boards. She had 20 points against Mercer on December 10^th, hitting seven shots and knocking down three three-point shots. Her previous season-high was 26 points on 8-for-18 shooting and a season-high four made three-pointers in the loss to Montgomery on November 12^th. Desi led the team last season, averaging 16.9 points per game and hitting a team-high 40 three-pointers.
 
First-year guard Ania Crocker (Freeport, NY) is averaging 10.9 points per game this season and is shooting 35.8% from the floor. Crocker averages 5.5 rebounds per game and has 39 assists, first on the team. She is tied with Salote for first on the team with 34 steals. She's fourth on the team with eight 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. 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 November 19^th, scoring 26 points, grabbing five rebounds, and posting four steals in the win. Ania had not scored in double-figures in her last five games, but broke out of that slump against Herkimer, scoring 13 points and grabbing four rebounds in the win against the Generals.
 
Sophomore forward Saraiah Franklin (Philadelphia, PA) is averaging 8.3 points and 7.9 rebounds per game through her 14 appearances. Franklin is shooting 38.7% from the floor and has 36 assists on the year. Saraiah had one of her best games of the year against Essex, scoring 14 points and setting a season-high in assists (5), along with matching her season-high in steals (3) and grabbing 12 rebounds. Against Harcum on November 21^st, 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. Saraiah set her season-high in rebounds with 16 boards against Herkimer, where she also put up 13 points and had four assists in the win. Saraiah has three double-doubles on the season. She scored 14 points and had five rebounds and four steals in the win against Mercer, scoring the game-winner on a put-back off a missed free throw with five seconds remaining.
 
Sophomore forward E'ternity Aiken (Wilkes-Barre, PA) is averaging 5.4 points per game through her eight contests this year. Aiken missed six games due to injury this season. She is shooting 40.5% from the floor and averages 6.8 rebounds per game, third on the team. She also has 12 steals. Aiken had 15 points and eleven boards in the win against Richard Bland College, her lone double-double of the season. She also had four steals and a pair of assists. She tied her season-high with eleven rebounds against Middlesex, along with eight points, two blocks, and two assists. Aiken scored four points, had seven rebounds, and dished out three assists against Mercer. She didn't score in 25 minutes against Herkimer, but had seven rebounds and four assists in the victory.
 
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 31-29 in her time as the head coach for the Falcons.
 
About Essex County College
The Wolverines (3-7, 2-6) have not played since a December 21^st loss to Raritan Valley at home. Essex struggled in December, going 1-4 in the month, all in Region XIX DII play. The game against Raritan went to overtime, with Essex blowing a fourth quarter lead. Essex hit 21-of-32 free throws and shot 34.9%, while holding a +25 rebounding advantage (67-42), but Raritan hit 14 three-pointers and had 20 more shot attempts. Essex's only wins in Region XIX play have come against Salem CC and Delaware Tech CC. Lackawanna won the first contest against Essex, 113-76, on the road, back on November 19^th.
 
Essex is averaging 61.5 points per game this season, while giving up 76.2 points per game on the year. The Wolverines are shooting 35.1% from the floor this season, making around 30.3% of their three-point attempts. Essex is a 62.2% free throw shooting team. Their opponents are hitting 34.3% from the field and hitting 25.3% from beyond the arc. The Wolverines have a -0.7 rebounding margin, pulling down 45.7 boards per game. Essex averages ten assists per game and just under ten turnovers per game, while forcing 17.7 turnovers per contest from their opponents.
 
First-year player Mia Marie Thomas has been excellent for the Wolverines, averaging 16.4 points per game this season, tenth in all of Region XIX and fourth in Division II. Thomas is shooting 33% from the floor, and has been prolific in getting to the line, shooting 75.2% from the floor, hitting 82-of-109 attempts through her ten appearances. Thomas averages 3.9 rebounds per game, along with a team-high 2.9 assists per game and 1.7 steals per game. She has scored in double-figures in nine of ten games for the Wolverines this year. Thomas had a season-high 24 points on November 19^th against Lackawanna, hitting five shots and going 13-for-15 from the free throw line. She was 14-for-18 with 18 points in the win against Howard CC on November 9^th and had 20 points on 11-for-13 free throw shooting against Prince George's CC on November 10^th. Thomas scored 12 points and had her season-high seven rebounds in a 95-36 loss against Harcum on December 10^th. She has hit four assists in four games this year. She set her season-high with four steals, along with four assists, six rebounds, and seven points in the loss to Raritan Valley on December 21^st.
 
Sophomore guard Basirat Amirashaun is second on the team at 13.2 points per game this season, eleventh in Region XIX DII, shooting 38.6% from the floor and going 10-for-30 from downtown this year. Amirashaun is the top rebounder for the Wolverines, pulling down 12 boards per game, tops in Division II and fourth in all of Region XIX. Amirashaun averages 2.1 assists per contest and is second on the team at two steals per game. Amirashaun scored in double-figures in eight games this season, scoring a season-high 23 in the win against Delaware Tech, hitting nine shots from the floor and grabbing eleven rebounds. She had 12 points and 20 rebounds, a season-high, in the loss to Prince George's CC back on November 10^th, her first double-double of the year. She now has six double-doubles on the year, including her 15 points and 13 rebounds in the loss to Lackawanna on November 19^th. In her last game, Amirashaun had eleven points and 17 rebounds in the loss to Raritan Valley CC.
 
First-year player Natalie Fonseca is averaging 10.6 points per game this season, third on the team, while shooting 33.3% from the floor. She averages 3.6 rebounds per game and leads the team with 2.9 assists per contest. Fonseca also leads the Wolverines with 2.2 steals per contest this season. Fonseca has scored double-figures in four games this season, with her season-high 23 points coming in an 81-71 win at Salem on November 23^rd. Fonseca made a season-best nine shots and was 5-for-7 from the free throw line in the victory. She also had six rebounds and three assists in the win. Fonseca had five points, five rebounds, and a season-best five assists against Mercer on December 7^th. She had 16 points, a season-best seven rebounds, and two assists in the loss to Raritan.
 
First-year forward Kayley Lynch averages 10.4 points per game, fourth on the team. Lynch is shooting 39.8% from the floor and averages 10.6 rebounds per game this year, second on the team and fifth in Region XIX DII. Lynch has five double-doubles this season and has scored in double-figures in six games this season. Her best came against Raritan, scoring a season-high 18 points and pulling down 14 rebounds in the loss. She set her season-high in boards with 15, while scoring eleven points in the loss to Prince George's CC. She had 12 points and 13 rebounds in the loss earlier this season to Lackawanna.
 
The head coach is Jahreal Cadogan, in his first season in charge of the Wolverines.
 
The Matchup
This is the second time that the Falcons and the Wolverines have played this season. Lackawanna won that game 113-76, back on November 19^th in Newark, NJ, scoring the most points for the program in one game in nearly five years. Jayla South scored 42 of those points, the most by a women's basketball player at Lackawanna College in 24 years. Lackawanna shot 45.1% from the floor and hit 13 three-point shots, scoring 55 points by halftime and never truly getting challenged. The full game recap is HERE.
 
Tuesday's game is scheduled for 5:00pm ET inside the historic Lackawanna College Student Union gymnasium. It's the second game of a doubleheader, with the men's teams playing afterwards at 7:00pm ET. The games are open to the public, with tickets sold at the door for adults ($5) and students ($3). Anyone with a valid Lackawanna College ID will gain free admission. There will also be a pay-per-view video livestream available via the Lackawanna College Athletics Network at lackawannafalcons.com/LIVE.
 
Lackawanna College remains home in its next contest, as the Falcons prepare to host Delaware Tech CC on Saturday, January 18^th at 1:00pm ET inside the historic Lackawanna College Student Union gymnasium. The game is the first of a doubleheader, with the men's teams following at 3:00pm ET.