#5 MIDDLESEX UPSETS #4 LACKAWANNA IN NJCAA D2 REGION 19 TOURNAMENT OPENER

Damani  Anderson scored 20 points off the bench and Courtney Hansen added 18 as #5 Middlesex College upset #4 Lackawanna 58-51 in the first round of the NJCAA Region 19 Division II Women's Basketball Tournament.

The Colts will face Union College next week in the Region 19 Tournament semifinals.

Middlesex and Lackawanna both played a defensive first half with the Colts carrying a 22-18 lead into the half.

Middlesex took control of the game in the third quarter when they scored the first 11 points out of the break. The Colts held Lackawanna scoreless for the first 6:09 of the third quarter in building a 15-point lead.

Lackawanna cut the Middlesex lead to just five points with 4:32 remaining, but Middlesex went on an 8-2 run coming out of a timeout and carried a nine point lead into the final two minutes.

Lackawanna had a glimmer of hope down seven going into the final minute of the game. But a steal and jump shot by Anderson with 33 seconds left gave the Colts a commanding nine point lead on the way to a seven point win.

The Colts defense was stellar throughout and held Lackawanna to just 23.9% shooting and just 2-23 on three-pointers. Middlesex shot 41.7% including 42.9% on three-pointers.

Vanessa Rivas (Sophomore/Perth Amboy, NJ) paced Middlesex with seven rebounds.  Hansen and Anderson had four steals each. Rivas led Middlesex with seven rebounds.

Lackawanna had beaten Middlesex twice in the regular season.

Middlesex continued their postseason run on Tuesday when they travel to Union College for a semifinal matchup with the top-seeded Owls.