2/18/25
 
SCRANTON, Pa. – Lackawanna women's basketball has one more Region XIX Division II contest left in the regular season, and the Falcons will host the Colts of Middlesex College on Tuesday, February 18^th, in Scranton.
 
Tip-off is set for 5:00pm ET inside the historic Lackawanna College Student Union gymnasium. The game is open to the public, with tickets sold at the door for adults ($5) and students ($3), and attendees with Lackawanna College IDs will be granted free admission. There is a pay-per-view video livestream available via the Lackawanna College Athletics Network at lackawannafalcons.com/LIVE. The Lackawanna men's basketball team will honor its sophomore class at halftime of the women's contest.
 
The game is important for both Lackawanna and Middlesex. The Falcons can guarantee themselves the third seed in the Region XIX DII playoffs with a victory. A loss, coupled with a win for four-seed Raritan Valley, could bump the Falcons to the fourth spot, where they'd have to play a first-round contest against Mercer County CC just to make the semifinals. Middlesex needs this game to make the Region XIX DII playoffs. The Colts have two games remaining in their regular season, and they must win both to force themselves into the playoffs.
 
The Falcons won the first meeting between the two sides this season, 51-46, back on December 7^th in Edison, NJ. Lackawanna fell behind 8-0 initially, then ground out a win with a crucial run in the fourth quarter to pull away for the victory. Lackawanna shot just 28% from the floor and was only 3-for-15 from the three-point line. Middlesex was not much better, shooting 26.5% from the floor and going 1-for-12 from deep. Lackawanna outrebounded Middlesex 52-42, and neither team shot above 50% from the free throw line on the day. You can read the full recap HERE.
 
About Lackawanna College
The Falcons (16-6, 11-4) have won three straight games, and they have gone 7-2 since the new year started. Lackawanna defeated Salem CC in its last game, 72-56, this past Saturday at home. Five sophomores scored in double-figures on Sophomore Day, as the Falcons led wire-to-wire against the Mighty Oaks. Lackawanna shot 35% from the floor, forced 23 turnovers, and scored 19 points on those turnovers. The Falcons went 10-for-12 from the free throw line in the fourth quarter. You can read the full recap HERE.
 
This season, the Falcons are averaging 72 points per game, while giving up 69.1 points per game against. Lackawanna is shooting 34.7% from the floor this season, while hitting 21% from three-point range. The Falcons have struggled from the free throw line this season, shooting 59.6% from the line. Lackawanna's opponents are shooting 36.2% from the floor and have hit 28.7% of their three-point shots. Lackawanna has a +6.5 rebounding margin, averaging 50.1 boards per game. The Falcons are averaging 21.3 turnovers per game, while forcing 20 per game this year. Lackawanna averages 12.3 steals per contest, while its opponents average 10.8 swipes per game. Lackawanna is averaging 4.7 blocks per game.
 
Sophomore forward Salote Franklin (Philadelphia, PA) leads the team with 16.9 points per game this season, eighth in the region and third in DII. Salote is shooting 46.5% from the floor and averages a team-high 13.1 rebounds per game, first in DII. Franklin is a 68.6% free throw shooter, first on the team, and leads the Falcons both in attempts (105) and makes (72). She has also hit 12 three-pointers this season. Franklin has 48 steals, second on the team, and leads the Falcons with 37 blocks this year. Salote is also tied for third on the team with 53 assists this season. She 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 20 games this year and has 16 double-doubles on the year, including in ten of her last eleven 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 eleven games, Franklin is averaging 17.5 points per game and 16.4 rebounds per contest. She scored 15 points and had 15 rebounds in the win against Salem on Saturday. She only played three minutes and didn't score in the win against Middlesex back in December.
 
Sophomore guard Desiree White (Carlisle, PA) is second on the team with 12.9 points per game through her 17 appearances, missing five games due to injury earlier this year. White has hit 27 three-point shots, first on the team, and is shooting 30.4% from the floor. White averages 3.4 rebounds a game and has 22 steals. Desi has hit double-figures ten 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 has scored in double-figures in seven of her last nine games. In that span, Desi is averaging 14.4 points per game in that stretch, hitting 16 three-pointers and averaging 3.8 rebounds per game. Desi scored 15 points and had four rebounds in the win against Salem on Saturday. She scored just four points in 21 minutes against Middlesex in December.
 
Sophomore guard Jayla South (Long Pond, PA) is third on the team with 11.8 points per game this season. South is shooting 32.3% and has made 16 three-point shots, second on the team this season. She averages six rebounds per game, fourth on the team, and has 56 assists, second on the squad, along with 42 steals and 23 blocks this season. South has scored double-figures in 15 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, while also pulling down eight rebounds and a posting a season-high five steals. She also had seven assists in the contest. Jayla set a season-high for rebounds with 13 boards, while scoring ten points in the win against Essex back on January 14^th. Jayla had just four points, but set her season-best with eight assists in the win against Mercer on February 4^th. South had ten points, five rebounds, and a pair of assists in the win against Salem on Saturday. She scored 13 points and had seven boards in the win against Middlesex in December, while also posting four steals.
 
First-year guard Ania Crocker (Freeport, NY) is averaging 9.6 points per game this season and is shooting 32.5% from the floor. Crocker averages 5.1 rebounds per game and has 59 assists, first on the team. She is also first on the team with 51 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 had five assists. Crocker scored 26 points, grabbed five rebounds, and posted four steals in the win against Essex on November 19^th. Crocker has nine games in double-digit points this season Ania scored seven points, grabbed seven rebounds, and dished out a season-high eight assists in the win against Raritan on January 28^th. Crocker scored two points and had three rebounds, along with two assists, in the win against Salem on Saturday. Crocker had nine points and nine rebounds in the win against Middlesex in December.
 
Sophomore forward Saraiah Franklin (Philadelphia, PA) is averaging 8.2 points and 8.3 rebounds per game through her 22 appearances. Franklin is shooting 38.6% from the floor and has 53 assists on the year, tied with Salote for third on the team. She's a 65.5% free throw shooter this season, and she has 31 steals and 16 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 ten games this season. She had scored double-figures in five of six games entering the contest with Raritan, while also pulling down 9.3 rebounds per game in that span. Saraiah had four points and matched her season-best with 16 boards, to go with four assists, in the win against Mercer County CC two weeks ago. She scored 12 points and had nine rebounds in the win against Salem this past Saturday. Saraiah had three points and grabbed eleven rebounds against Middlesex in December.
 
Sophomore forward E'ternity Aiken (Wilkes-Barre, PA) is averaging 8.1 points per game through her 16 contests this year. Aiken missed six games due to injury earlier this season. She is shooting 50.5% from the floor and averages 7.1 rebounds per game, third on the team. She also has 20 steals. Aiken had 15 points and eleven boards in the win against Richard Bland College, her first of three double-doubles of the season. She also had four steals and a pair of assists. Her second double-double came against Harcum on January 25^th, putting up 13 points and grabbing ten rebounds in the loss. Aiken had a career-best game against Raritan on January 28^th, scoring a season-high 24 points on 10-for-13 shooting and pulling down a season-high 13 rebounds in the win against the Lions. She had 18 points, eight rebounds, and three blocks in the win against Mercer on February 4^th. She scored eleven points and grabbed six boards in the win against Salem on Saturday. In her last four games, E'ternity is averaging 16.5 points per game, while pulling down 9.3 rebounds per contest and shooting a sizzling 68.4% from the floor. E'ternity had eight points and eleven rebounds against Middlesex in December.
 
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 37-31 in her time as the head coach for the Falcons.
 
About Middlesex College
The Colts (12-13, 5-9) are 7-5 in the new year and had won three straight games heading into Saturday, before dropping a 69-60 decision to Raritan Valley CC. The Lions built a 39-22 lead at halftime, and survived a fourth-quarter rally from the Colts for the win. Raritan shot 37.3% from the field and were 21-for-30 from the free throw line, while forcing 31 turnovers and holding Middlesex to 36.8% on the night.
 
Middlesex is averaging 58.6 points per game this year, while giving up 62.5 points per game on the year. This season, the Colts are shooting 35.1% from the floor and just 21.7% from beyond the arc. They are just above 51% from the free throw line this season. Their opponents are shooting 34.7% from the floor and 25.6% from downtown. The Colts have a +2.9 rebounding margin, averaging 40.3 rebounds per game this year. They average 24.5 turnovers per game and have forced 17.7 per game from their opponents. The opposition averages 13 steals per game, while the Colts are at 9.4 swipes per contest. Middlesex averages 4.2 blocks per game.
 
First-year guard Alyssa Rice leads the Colts in scoring, averaging 11.8 points per game this year. Rice shoots 35% from the floor and is a 62.3% shooter from the free throw line. Rice is second on the team at two assists per game, along with 1.6 steals per game. Rice also averages 3.7 rebounds per game. Rice has reached double-figures in 17 games, scoring her season-best 23 points against Brookdale CC back on February 8^th. She was 10-for-23 from the floor, had six rebounds, and set a season-high with five steals. She had 21 on 9-for-13 shooting, while also putting up a season-best four assists, in the win against Mercer on November 26^th. She scored five points and had a season-best nine rebounds in the loss to Howard CC back on December 22^nd. Rice scored eleven points and had a pair of rebounds in the loss to Raritan Valley this past Saturday. Rice had 17 points and three rebounds against Lackawanna in December.
 
Sophomore guard Kezia Feaster is second on the team at 10.7 points per game this year, shooting 35.4% from the field and 24.7% from deep. Feaster averages 4.4 rebounds per game, while leading the Colts in assists (2.7) and steals (2.1) per contest. Feaster has scored in double-figures in 15 games this year, with her season-best 23 points coming in the win against Anne Arundel back on November 16^th. She had 23 points on 9-for-19 shooting, grabbing four rebounds and dishing out three assists. She had 21 points and a season-high nine rebounds in the loss to Raritan Valley this past weekend. Feaster had just six points and a season-high seven assists in the loss to Salem on January 25^th. She had eleven points and a season-high six steals in a win against Bronx CC on February 11^th. Feaster had 12 points and six rebounds in the loss to Lackawanna back in December.
 
Sophomore forward Amya Green is third on the team, averaging 8.3 points per game and shooting a team-best 40.5% from the floor. She's second on the team with 8.2 rebounds per game, and averages about an assist per game this year. Green has scored in double-figures ten times this season, going for double-digit rebounds in ten games this season. Green has six double-doubles this year. She had a season-high 19 points and eleven rebounds in a December win at Essex County College, going 7-for-13 from the floor and hitting five free throws. She had 15 points and a season-high 18 rebounds in the loss to Cecil College on November 12^th, making seven shots from the field and pulling down ten offensive rebounds. Green had 13 points and 16 rebounds in the win against Essex on January 28^th. She had four points and a pair of rebounds in the loss to Raritan Valley CC on Saturday. Green scored just two points in 31 minutes against Lackawanna in December, but pulled down 12 rebounds.
 
Sophomore center Angelina Peralta-Almonte is fourth on the team at 7.5 points per game, while leading the Colts in rebounding (9.5 per game) and blocks (2.7 per game). Peralta-Almonte shoots about 34% from the floor this season and is around 42% from the free throw line. She has eight games in double-figures scoring this year, while putting up double-digit rebounds in 12 games on the year. She had season-highs in points (15), rebounds (18), and blocks (7) in the win at Hagerstown on November 2^nd. She matched her season-high points with 15 points and 13 rebounds in the win against Bucks County CC on January 14^th. Peralta-Almonte also matched her season-high blocks with seven rejections in the loss to Mercer back on November 26^th. She has six double-doubles this season. She had eleven points and 15 rebounds in the win against Essex on January 28^th. Peralta Almonte had eight points and eight rebounds against Raritan Valley on Saturday. Against Lackawanna in December, she had seven points, 13 rebounds, and five rejections in the loss.
 
The head coach for the Colts is Michel Powell, now in her 19^th season at the helm of the program, and in her 25^th season overall coaching in junior college. Powell, a Union College graduate, played basketball for the Owls for two years before transferring to Kean University, where she was a member of the 1987 Final Four team. She graduated with a bachelor's degree in recreation management and was a teacher for over 30 years of physical education at St. Mary's of The Assumption, her HS alma mater. Powell joined the coaching ranks in 2000, taking over the Essex County College job, a post she held for six seasons, where she won 133 games and took a Garden State Athletic Conference title, along with a pair of Region XIX runners-up finishes. She's a two-time GSAC Coach of the Year, and has won over 250 games at Middlesex, where she also has a GSAC championship and two runners-up finishes in the region.
 
The Matchup
Tuesday's game is the second match-up of the season, with the Falcons winning the first game, 51-46, in Edison, NJ back in December. Lackawanna is 3-1 against Middlesex since last year, with its only loss coming to the Colts at home in the Region XIX DII first-round last season, eliminating the four-seed Falcons from the playoffs.
 
Coming into Tuesday night, The three, four, five, and six-seed teams in Region XIX DII are all in region action, while a handful of teams are playing non-region contests. The standings look like this:
 
1 – Union (24-2, 15-1)
2 – Harcum (20-5, 12-3)
3 – Lackawanna (16-6, 11-4)
4 – Raritan Valley CC (17-10, 10-5)
5 – Mercer County CC (16-6, 9-6)
6 – Middlesex College (12-13, 5-9)
7 – Salem CC (11-12, 4-12)
8 – Essex County (5-14, 2-13)
9 – Delaware Tech (0-21, 0-15)
 
Top-seeded Union is idle. Second-seed Harcum will play a non-region contest at home against Hagerstown CC. #3 Lackawanna is hosting #6 Middlesex. #4 Raritan Valley plays #5 Mercer County CC. #7 Salem is in a crossover game against Montgomery County CC. Essex and Delaware Tech are both idle on Tuesday.
 
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 a team outside the top four has either a .500 or better region or overall record, they also qualify for the postseason, forcing a first-round playoff game to determine the seeds for the semi-final round. If the postseason were to start today, only one team, #5 Mercer County CC, would qualify and force a first-round game against #4 Raritan Valley CC. However, current #6 Middlesex and #7 Salem CC can both still qualify for the postseason, but both teams need to win out. Middlesex, including the game against Lackawanna, must win both of its two remaining games to make the postseason. Salem must beat Montco on Tuesday night to make the postseason.
 
Again, a win for #3 Lackawanna against Middlesex would sew up the three-seed for the Falcons and guarantee Lackawanna a match-up against Harcum College in the region final four. A loss for Lackawanna, coupled with a win for Raritan against Mercer, could send the Falcons to the four-seed, and mean Lackawanna would host Mercer County CC in a first-round contest. A win for Middlesex would move the Colts one step closer to making the playoffs.
 
Tuesday's tip-off is scheduled for 5:00pm ET inside the historic Lackawanna College Student Union gymnasium. The game is 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.
 
As a reminder, Lackawanna men's basketball will recognize its sophomore class at halftime of the women's game with a Sophomore Day ceremony.
 
Lackawanna women's basketball is back to work quickly with a non-region road game on Wednesday, February 19^th, as the Falcons travel to take on NJCAA Division I opponent Monroe University. Tip-off is set for 5:00pm ET inside the Monroe Athletic Complex in New Rochelle, NY. The women's game is the first of a doubleheader, with the men's squads playing afterwards at 7:00pm ET.