2/4/25
 
SCRANTON, Pa. – With the game tied and four minutes to go, Lackawanna College women's basketball turned to a pair of sophomores to hit a decisive 7-0 run, as the Falcons pulled away from Mercer County CC for the 73-66 win in Region XIX Division II play inside the historic Lackawanna College Student Union gymnasium on Tuesday evening.
 
The Falcons (15-6, 10-4) battled back-and-forth with the visitors throughout the night, and the game was tied at 59-all with just under four minutes remaining. That's when the Falcons struck for the decisive spurt. Sophomore E'ternity Aiken (Wilkes-Barre, PA) snagged an offensive rebound off a missed three-pointer and powered it back up for two, drawing a foul in the process. Aiken sank her free throw, and the Falcons led 62-59. Not too long after that, sophomore Desiree White (Carlisle, PA) converted a lay-up off an assist from Jayla South (Long Pond, PA) in transition, pushing the Lackawanna lead to five-points with three minutes to go. Later, Aiken earned another pair of free throws off an offensive rebound, knocking two through to push the Lackawanna lead to 66-59 with 2:40 left.
 
That run, in a game where neither team held a lead much larger than six, was just enough to secure the Falcons an important win at home.
 
Mercer (14-6, 7-6) gave Lackawanna all it could handle early, and the Vikings led by eight with about four minutes to go in the third quarter at 45-37. Lackawanna kickstarted a 13-4 in the final four minutes when Aiken scored on a jumper in the lane in transition. Salote Franklin (Philadelphia, PA) scored on a spinning lay-up to cut the deficit to four and, after Mercer scored to push it back to six, Aiken scored again in the paint. Then, White sank a pair of free throws to cut it to two and tied the game on a lay-up in transition with 1:06 to go in the quarter. White then hit a three-pointer in the corner off an assist from South to give the Falcons the lead at 50-47, before Mercer scored to cut it to one heading into the decisive fourth quarter.
 
The Falcons had three players in double-figures on the night, with Franklin and White each scoring 21 points. Franklin had 21 and 12 rebounds, as well as four assists and four blocks, while White had 21 points and five rebounds. Aiken came off the bench to score 18 points and grab eight rebounds, while also blocking eight shots. South finished with four points, seven rebounds, and eight assists. Lackawanna shot 35% for the game, but hit 44.4% in the fourth quarter, while also going 7-for-9 from the free throw line in the final frame.
 
Mercer was led by Alexandra Garcia Galan's game-high 33 points, making 16 shots on the night. Carla Cancerrero Gallego had four points and a game-high 17 rebounds, along with seven assists. The Vikings shot 38% for the game, but were just 3-for-15 from downtown, and were outrebounded 50-39 by the Falcons.
 
The win helps the Falcons extend their hold on third place in the Region XIX Division II standings, moving their region record to 10-4, a full 1.5 games ahead of Raritan Valley CC. Mercer remains in the fifth-place spot, now 1.5 games behind Raritan Valley.
 
Lackawanna College has an extended break, not playing for the next eleven days. The Falcons will get back to action on Saturday, February 15^th, when they host the Salem CC Mighty Oaks in Region XIX Division II action. Tip-off is set for 1:00pm ET inside the historic Lackawanna College Student Union gymnasium.