1/27/25
 
SCRANTON, Pa. – The possibilities and the math start to narrow after a key Region XIX DII match-up on Tuesday, January 28^th, as Lackawanna women's basketball hosts Raritan Valley CC on Faculty and Staff Appreciation Night in Scranton.
 
Tip-off is scheduled for 5:00pm ET inside the historic Lackawanna College Student Union gymnasium. The game is the first of a pair, as the men's teams are set to play 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 is a pay-per-view video livestream available via the Lackawanna College Athletics Network at lackawannafalcons.com/LIVE.
 
It's Faculty & Staff Appreciation night, as well as the annual Difference Makers games. Between the women's and men's game, there will be a brief presentation to the "Difference Makers" at Lackawanna College, as chosen by the student-athletes on the women's and men's basketball teams.
 
It's also a crucial game one for both Lackawanna College and Raritan Valley CC, as far as standings and seedings are concerned in Region XIX Division II. Coming into Tuesday night, Raritan (7-3) is the #3 seed with six games still to play. Lackawanna (8-4) is the #4 seed with four games remaining in region play.
 
Raritan owns a win over Lackawanna, defeating the Falcons by a 79-65 margin earlier this season on December 3rd in New Jersey. Lackawanna led by six at halftime, and the game was tied at 58-all entering the fourth quarter, but the Falcons were just 3-for-18 in the fourth quarter, going the final 5:50 without a bucket. You can read the full recap HERE.
 
About Lackawanna College
The Falcons (13-6, 8-4) went 1-2 last week, losing each of their Region XIX DII contests to Union and Harcum, respectively. The latest game for Lackawanna came against Harcum College on the road this past Saturday, where the Bears led from start to finish in a 75-46 setback for the Falcons. Harcum shot 42% from the floor and made nine three-pointers, while holding the Falcons to just 30% from the floor and a 0-for-18 showing from deep. The Falcons committed 29 turnovers and had just five assists.
 
This season, the Falcons are averaging 71.5 points per game, while giving up 69.9 points per game against. Lackawanna is shooting 34.4% from the floor this season, while hitting 21.4% from three-point range. The Falcons have struggled from the free throw line this season, shooting 59.2% from the line. Lackawanna's opponents are shooting 36.6% from the floor and have hit 29.5% of their three-point shots. Lackawanna has a +5.2 rebounding margin, averaging 48.9 boards per game. The Falcons are averaging 22 turnovers per game, while forcing 20.3 per game this year. Lackawanna averages 12.4 steals per contest, while its opponents average eleven swipes per game. Lackawanna is averaging 4.4 blocks per game.
 
Sophomore forward Salote Franklin (Philadelphia, PA) leads the team with 16.6 points per game this season, tenth in the region and third in DII. Salote is shooting 45.2% from the floor and averages a team-high 12.6 rebounds per game, first in DII. Franklin is a 68% free throw shooter, first on the team, and has hit ten three-pointers this season. She also has 44 steals, second on the team, and leads the Falcons with 31 blocks this year. 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 back on December 14^th. 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 17 games this year and has 13 double-doubles on the year, including in seven of her last eight games. 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 set her season-high in steals in the win against Orange on January 23^rd, securing seven steals, while also putting up 22 points and 20 rebounds. In her last eight games, Franklin is averaging 17.7 points per game and 16.4 rebounds per contest. She scored just six points and had 13 rebounds against Harcum on Saturday. Against Raritan earlier this year, she had 22 points and 13 rebounds on 10-for-19 shooting.
 
Sophomore guard Desiree White (Carlisle, PA) is second on the team with 12.3 points per game through her 14 appearances, missing five games due to injury earlier this year. White has hit 21 three-point shots, first on the team, and is shooting 29.8% from the floor. White averages just over three rebounds a game and has 16 steals. Desi has hit double-figures seven times this year, scoring her season-high against Herkimer on January 11^th, 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 had scored in double-figures in four straight contests, but has been held below ten points in her last two games. She set a season-best with four steals, while also scoring nine points and pulling down five boards in the win against Orange on January 23^rd. She had just six points and three rebounds in the loss to Harcum on Saturday. Against Raritan Valley, she had nine points in 26 minutes.
 
Sophomore guard Jayla South (Long Pond, PA) is third on the team with 12.1 points per game this season. South is shooting 33.2% and has made 15 three-point shots, second on the team this season. She averages 6.1 rebounds per game, fourth on the team, and has 41 assists, fourth on the squad, along with 35 steals and 18 blocks this season. South has scored double-figures in 13 games 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. Jayla was held to seven points and four rebounds in the loss to Harcum this past Saturday. Against Raritan back in December, she had a great all-around game, despite fouling out, scoring 13 points and grabbing six rebounds, while putting up two assists, steals, and blocks.
 
First-year guard Ania Crocker (Freeport, NY) is averaging 10.4 points per game this season and is shooting 33% from the floor. Crocker averages 5.3 rebounds per game and has 48 assists, first on the team. She is also first on the team with 46 steals. 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. Crocker has nine games in double-digit points this season, including four of her last six games. Ania had just two points on 1-for-11 shooting and two rebounds in the loss to Harcum on Saturday. She scored just four points, but had four assists and three rebounds, in the loss to Raritan in December.
 
Sophomore forward Saraiah Franklin (Philadelphia, PA) is averaging 8.6 points and 7.9 rebounds per game through her 19 appearances. Franklin is shooting 40.9% from the floor and has 43 assists on the year, second on the team. She's a 8.9% free throw shooter this season, and has 25 steals and 14 blocks. Saraiah had one of her best games of the year against Essex in November, 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 and has hit double-figures in scoring in nine games this season. She is averaging 10.2 points per game in her last six contests, scoring double-figures in five of those six games. Saraiah is also pulling down 9.3 rebounds per game in that span. Saraiah had ten points and five rebounds in 40 minutes against Harcum on Saturday. Against Raritan back in December, Saraiah had five points and three rebounds, along with four assists.
 
Sophomore forward E'ternity Aiken (Wilkes-Barre, PA) is averaging 5.8 points per game through her 13 contests this year. Aiken missed six games due to injury earlier this season. She is shooting 41.9% from the floor and averages 6.6 rebounds per game, third on the team. She also has 16 steals. Aiken had 15 points and eleven boards in the win against Richard Bland College, her first of two double-doubles of the season. She also had four steals and a pair of assists. Her second double-double came against Harcum this past Saturday, putting up 13 points and grabbing ten rebounds in the loss. 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 on December 10^th. Against Raritan Valley, she had four points and five boards in 14 minutes.
 
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 34-31 in her time as the head coach for the Falcons.
 
About Raritan Valley CC
The Lions (13-7, 7-3) enter the contest as winners in three of their first four games of the spring semester, including victories in their last two games. Raritan has not played since a 64-62 win at home against Harcum College last Tuesday, January 21^st. The Lions won that game thanks to some strong shooting, hitting nearly 41% of their shots and knocking down ten three-pointers. A 23-12 third quarter turned a one-point halftime deficit into a ten-point lead. Harcum closed the gap, but the Lions hit the shots down the stretch to come away with the win.
 
Raritan is averaging 73.3 points per contest, while giving up 69.6 points against this year. Raritan is averaging around 39.7% from the field, while hitting 31.6% from downtown and 63.7% from the free throw line. Opponents are averaging 38.5% from the floor and 27.1% from three-point range. The Lions average around 33.8 rebounds per game and are -8.4 in rebounding margin this year. Raritan averages just over 20 turnovers per game and has forced just shy of 20 turnovers per contest from its opponents.
 
The Lions have four players averaging double-figures in scoring this season, with first-year player Sophia Larsen leading the pack at 16.3 points per game this year. Larsen is shooting 35.9% from the floor and hitting 33% of her three-point shots this year, with a team-high 51 makes from downtown. Larsen is third on the team at 4.9 rebounds per game, tied for second in assists per game (2.6), and averages 2.3 steals per contest, second on the team. She has 16 games in double-figures, putting up a season-high 31 points against Lackawanna in the first meeting back on December 3^rd. She was 10-for-20 from the floor, made five three-point shots, and was a perfect 6-for-6 from the line in the victory. She has twice gotten a season-best nine rebounds this year, getting 22 points and nine boards against Drew JV on December 1^st, and then 25 points and nine rebounds against Essex on December 21^st. She had 18 points and a season-best six steals in a win against Salem CC back on December 7^th. Larsen had 21 points, four rebounds, and four assists in the win against Harcum last week.
 
First-year guard Ona Riopedre is second on the team in scoring, averaging 14.1 points per game this season. Riopedre is shooting 43.8% from the floor and is a 71.7% free throw shooter this season. Riopedre averages 5.3 rebounds per contest, second on the team, and is at 2.6 assists per game and 2.2 steals per game this season. She has 15 games in double-figures this season, scoring her season-best 29 points on 11-for-19 shooting and hitting four three-pointers in the win against Middlesex College back on December 10^th. She set season-highs in rebounds (14) and assists (7) in the win against Essex County College in December, adding 18 points to give her a double-double, her only one this season. Riopedre had four points and nine rebounds in the win against Harcum last week. She scored 16 points, posted five rebounds, and gave out three assists in the win against Lackawanna back in December.
 
Sophomore guard Julia Fontanillo is averaging 12.5 points per game this year, shooting 50% from the floor. Fontanillo leads the Lions in rebounds per contest (7.1), assists (6.6), and steals (4.1). Fontanillo has 12 games with double-figures scoring this season, including her season-high 24 points in the win against SUNY Orange on January 11^th. She was 11-for-13 from the floor, while posting six rebounds and seven steals in the win. Fontanillo had an impressive triple-double this season against Henry Ford College, posting 15 points and season-high totals in rebounds (14) and assists (12) in a win back in December. Her assists matched a season-best of 12 set earlier this season against Delaware Tech, where she also had 13 points and nine rebounds, just narrowly missing a triple-double. She came close to another triple double against Passaic on December 12^th, scoring 13 points, posting a season-high ten steals, and grabbing eight rebounds in the win. Fontanillo had 17 points, six rebounds, and four assists in the win against Harcum last week. She scored 16 points, grabbed ten boards, and had six assists in the win against Lackawanna College back in December.
 
First-year guard Elizabeth May is averaging 8.3 points per game this season, shooting at 32.4% from the floor and 32.7% from downtown. She's also hitting around 69% of her free throw attempts this season. May averages three rebounds per game, and just over one assist per contest. She also leads the team in blocks, averaging just over one rejection per game. May has scored double-figures in eight games this season, setting her season-best with 16 points in the win at Delaware Tech CC back on November 19^th. In that game, May was 7-for-10 from the floor and made a pair of three-pointers. She also had five rebounds and four assists in the win. Against Orange in December, May had ten points and a season-high seven rebounds. She set a season-best against Orange less than a month later, posting five assists, along with 13 points, in a win. Against Harcum last week, she had eight points and an assist. Against Lackawanna back in December, she posted eight points, a rebound, and one assist in the win.
 
The head coach for Raritan is Phil Herro, now in his tenth season in charge. Herro is coming off one of his best seasons, with last year's squad going 22-8 overall and 8-2 in region play before falling in the Region XIX DII semi-finals to Harcum. Herro turned the Lions from club sport into a competitive thorn in the side of Region XIX DII squads over the years, reaching the Region XIX semi-finals in four seasons. Herro is 135-106 in his career at Raritan Valley CC.
 
The Matchup
Again, this is the second match-up of the season between Raritan and Lackawanna, with Raritan victorious at home in the last game on December 3^rd, 79-65. That was a game Lackawanna led at half and was tied at the start of the fourth quarter at 58-58, but the Falcons were 3-for-18 in the fourth quarter and went the final six minutes without a field goal. The loss marks the third straight game that Raritan has beaten Lackawanna. This coming after Lackawanna had rattled off seven straight against the Lions since the 2019-2020 season.
 
Coming into Tuesday night, four of the top five teams in Region XIX DII are in action. The standings look like this:
 
1 – Union (20-0, 12-0)
2 – Harcum (15-5, 8-3)
3 – Raritan Valley (13-7, 7-3)
4 – Lackawanna (13-6, 8-4)
5 – Mercer County CC (12-5, 6-5)
6 – Salem CC (10-8, 4-8)
 
Top-seeded Union is on the road at Salem CC on Tuesday night. Harcum is idle. #3 Raritan is playing at #4 Lackawanna. #5 Mercer is hosting winless Delaware Tech. As the standings are right now, a win for Lackawanna on Tuesday night at least pushes the Falcons back above Raritan Valley into third place. A loss, coupled with a Mercer win, makes it so the Falcons are even with the Vikings in the loss column, and just one win ahead in the fourth spot.
 
In the way that the playoffs work for Region XIX DII, the top four teams will advance to the Region XIX DII WBB Final Four, hosted by Lackawanna College on Thursday, February 27^th. However, if the fifth-seeded team has a .500 or better overall record, they also qualify for the postseason, forcing a play-in game at the fourth seed prior to the semifinal round. The winner of that game would then advance to play the #1 seed. So, it would behoove either Lackawanna College or Raritan Valley to try to lock themselves into "no-worse than third," and a win on Tuesday could go a long way into cementing that.
 
Tip-off is scheduled for 5:00pm ET inside the historic Lackawanna College Student Union gymnasium. The game is the first of a pair, as the men's teams are set to play 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 is a pay-per-view video livestream available via the Lackawanna College Athletics Network at lackawannafalcons.com/LIVE.
 
Tuesday's game against Raritan Valley CC is the first of four straight home games for Lackawanna College, the final regular season home games of the season. Their next contest won't be until Saturday, February 1^st, when the Falcons are due to host the Middlesex College Colts. Tip-off is set for 1:00pm ET inside the historic Lackawanna College Student Union, and the game will be the first of a doubleheader, with the men's teams following at 3:00pm ET.