Head women’s basketball coach Mike Seney said in a March press release, in part, that his “…promise is to bring the same passion, determination, and commitment to CCBC Essex,” that led to him building a legacy in his last head coaching stint.
So far this season, Seney and the Knights have delivered on that promise, most recently with a 96-63 win over Cecil College on Friday night to go to 18-2 (4-0 Maryland Juco) on the season. The victory also extended Seney’s conference win-streak, which now stands at 90.
NJCAA Player of the Week and Maryland Juco Athlete of the Month Mya Moye had, by the standards set this season, a quiet night with nine points (4-13), however, did dish out a game-high eight assists, had seven rebounds and three steals.
Freshman Trinity Horton (a grad of Chesapeake High in Essex) led the way for the Knights with 17 points on 7-of-14 shooting, including three three-pointers. She also had three rebounds, two steals and two assists.
The Knights have started many games slowly this season, but Friday was not one of them, as they outscored the Seahawks 30-16 in the first frame, while shooting nearly 43% from the field.
Sophomore Kasey Gagan had eight of her 16 points (5-9) in the second quarter, hitting 2-of-3 three-point attempts. She finished shooting 5-9 (4-8 on threes) and had five assists and two rebounds.
Sophomore Aislinn Flynn got things going in the second half, scoring 10 of her 14 points in the third quarter. She added 11 rebounds for her sixth double-double of the season and had six blocks.
Sophomore Rayah Fink also had a double-double on 15 points (6-15) and 12 rebounds. She finished with three blocks, three steals, and two assists.
Freshman Kendal Haggerty scored 12 points on 4-of-12 shooting from three, had eight rebounds, two assists and two blocks.
The Knights converted 23 Seahawks’ turnovers into 28 points and finished with an 18-8 edge in second chance points.
CCBC Essex’s defense forced Cecil (5-7, 1-2 Maryland Juco) into its second worst shooting performance (29.7%) and its worst three-point efficiency (13.3%) of the season.
It had been nine days since head coach Mike Seney’s team had defeated sibling campus CCBC Catonsville 92-53 to win the 2019 National Title IX Holiday Tournament in Washington, D.C. That was the last time the Knights women’s basketball team was on the floor for a game.
Nine days can be a long time in sports. It can mess with timing, chemistry, and even routines.
“I wasn’t worried,” Seney said. “We had a few good days of practice and we came out like I thought we would. Our team was eager to get back out there.”
It didn’t appear that his squad was worried either, as the Knights continued its conference and regional domination, taking down the Raptors 107-59. It was also Seney’s 89th consecutive win against a Maryland Juco opponent.
Sophomore Mya Moye had a game and career-high 41 points (14-21, 67 percent overall), a game-high nine assists and tied for a game-high six steals. She added four rebounds as well.
“Mya has been taking over more and more of the ball handling duties and she’s been running with that,” Seney said. “Nothing rattles her. She is so poised and that is what [a coach] wants from the guard position.”
The Knights (17-2, 3-0 Maryland Juco) took control of the game early. After failing behind 5-3 at the 7:37 mark, Essex went on a 20-3 run to close out the opening quarter with a 23-8 lead. CCBC Essex was a bit cold in the second quarter, scoring just 16 points on 5-18 (27.8 percent) shooting, but held a 39-25 advantage at the break. Seney and his coaches must have had a great halftime conversation with their student-athletes, as the Knights came out hot in the second half.
The team shot 54.8 percent (23-42) from the field in the second half, including 57.9 percent (11.19) in the third quarter alone.
Freshman Kendal Haggerty (Urbana) was the game’s second leading scorer with 18 points (6-16) and hit 5-of-15 three-point attempts. She also had five rebounds and two steals.
Freshman Trinity Horton, grad of Chesapeake High in Essex had 16 points on 4-8 (50 percent) shooting, which included making 3-of-6 three-point attempts. She pulled down eight rebounds as well. Sophomore Kasey Gagan tied Moye with a game-high six steals. The University of Rhode Island transfer added 13 points, seven assists and five rebounds.
The Knights’ fifth starter, Rayah Fink, was one-point shy of a double-double. She finished with nine points, a game-high 10 rebounds and had a game-high two blocks. CCBC Essex starters averaged just over 32 minutes played and accounted for 97 of the team’s 107 points.
CCBC Essex Women’s Basketball opened its Maryland Juco Conference and NJCAA Region XX slate on Tuesday at Howard and sophomore guard Mya Moye finished with a career and game-high 33 points in route to a 104-83 victory on the road.
Moye – a transfer from Florida A&M – shot 12-16 overall and hit 7-of-8 threes. She also finished one assist shy of a double-double and had five rebounds and two steals.
“Mya [Moye] has been finding her groove over the last few games,” said Seney, who extended his winning streak versus conference opponents to 86. “We knew a breakout performance was coming and we’re glad it happened in a tough road game.”
Moye is now averaging 19.8 points per game and 5.9 assists per game, both of which rank 6th in the conference and 4th in Region XX Division II. Freshman Logan Handy was second on the team and third in the game with 17 points (6-15). She also added four steals.
The Knights (8-1, 1-0 Maryland Juco) allowed the Dragons to stay in the game early, leading by only four points after the first frame. They outscored Howard 23-17 in the second quarter to take a 46-36 lead into halftime.
“We wanted to make sure we capitalized off [Howard’s] mistakes,” Seney said he and the coaches told the team at the break. “That’s how you extend a lead. You get stops and make the other team pay. That was our message at halftime.” The third quarter was a full on assault, as Essex went 16-27 from the field (59.3%), including 6-10 from beyond the arc (60%) to outscore Howard 41-24.
Handy scored 16 in the third and Moye was a perfect 4-4 overall, going 3-3 from three-point land. Howard (7-2, 1-1 Maryland Juco) bested the Knights 23-17 in the fourth frame, but the damage was already done, as CCBC Essex handed Howard its first conference loss of the season.
Freshmen Amiyah Holmes and Trinity Horton from Chesapeake High in Baltimore County, finished with 13 and 10 points, respectively. Holmes shot 6-9 and Horton 4-10, as both came off the bench for 20 minutes. CCBC Essex’s bench outscored Howard’s 31-17. As a team, the Knights shot 47.2% (42-89) from the floor and hit 40.6% (13-32) of its three-point attempts.
“It always feels good to win on the road in conference play,” said Seney. “Those games are always tough, especially with us having such a big target on our backs. We are going to get every teams’ best game.”
The Knights are off until Dec. 7 when they return home to host Potomac State College. Tipoff is scheduled for 2 p.m.
– by Rocco Geppi of CCBC-
CCBC Essex Athletics announced on March 26, 2019 that it had hired Mike Seney to be head women’s basketball coach and tasked him to rebuild a program that had been absent for 15 years.
After just three weeks into the regular season, Seney has the Knights sitting at 5-1 and ranked No. 12 in NJCAA Division II with wins over two top 10 teams.
The Knights were also selected as the No. 1 team in the Maryland Juco Athletic Conference – as voted on by the conference head coaches – receiving seven first place votes.
“The fact we are being recognized at such an early point in the season lets the coaches and I know people are taking notice,” Seney said. “Especially those in our conference. That says a lot about the team we have built in a short amount of time.”
CCBC Essex began the season in dominating fashion, defeating Mercer County 109-43 at home.
University of Rhode Island transfer Kasey Gagan finished with a game-high 23 points on 6-of-10 shooting, which included going 4-for-7 from behind the arc. All in just 19 minutes.
Mya Moye – Florida A&M University transfer – scored 19 and freshman Trinity Horton,a grad of Chesapeake High in Essex, had 17 points. Freshman Kobie Scott-Pearson chipped in 11 points on 4-of-9 shooting.
All three came off the bench.
The Knights’ bench play has been deadly so far this season, as they currently average 41.8 points per game.
Horton seems to be Seney and company’s first choice off the bench, averaging 14 points per game as the team’s third leading scorer.
“My coaching staffs and I have had talent in the past, but this is the deepest team I’ve ever coached,” Seney said. “Trinity Horton is a great example of that. She doesn’t need much to get going and we love being able to bring her off the bench. She’s almost a sixth starter. We don’t lose anything with her in the game.”
Essex’s next game came on Nov. 5 at home against Rowan College at Burlington County.
Although the Barons had a better shooting percentage than the Knights (40.7% to 36.1%), the home team picked up an 80-74 win.
The Knights would hit the road next for a pair of games November 8-9 in North Carolina.
Facing ranked opponents for the first time this season, Essex would split the weekend, defeating No. 4 Cape Fear 82-73 and falling to Wake Tech 67-61.
Moye led the Knights against Cape Fear, finishing with 21 points (7-11) and six assists.
Horton (15 points), Gagan (13 points) and freshman Amiyah Holmes (13 points) also finished in double figures.
Horton was one rebound shy of a double-double. -Chesapeake High grad Trinity Horton has helped CCBC Essex get to a 5-1 start.Horton
As a team, Essex shot 45.8% (11-24, 3-pointers) and made 11 more free throws than Cape Fear, despite the home team receiving nearly twice as many opportunities.
Less than 24 hours later, the Knights hit the hardwood to face Wake Tech.
Seney’s Knights led 33-28 at halftime and still had a five-point edge to start the fourth quarter.
Ranked No. 18 at the time, the Eagles outscored Essex 25-14 in the final frame to hand the Knights their first loss of the season.
“I think we got so pumped for fourth ranked Cape Fear the day before that we put so much into that game, coaches included, and we let our foot off the gas against Wake Tech,” Seney said.
Moye led the Knights with 16 points. Although she was just 4-of-20 from the field, she went 6-for-9 at the free throw line.
Less than a week later, the Knights averted losing two in a row and did so in grand fashion with another Top 10 victory.
On Nov. 16, the Knights went west to its sibling campus for the CCBC Catonsville Mixer and faced No. 7 Union County on day one.
CCBC Essex had the top three scorers in the game, as the “receiving votes” Knights upset the Owls in a convincing matter 80-66.
Moye had a game-high 21 points (7-18) and five defensive rebounds and Horton came off the bench to finish with 20 (6-10).
Towson University transfer Aislinn Flynn finished with her first double-double of the season on 15 points and 12 rebounds.
“We couldn’t wait to get back out on the court after that first loss,” Seney said. “We weren’t mentally ready against Wake Tech. We were locked in and ready to go against Union and we didn’t have any real mental lapses.”
On day two of the Catonsville Mixer, the Knights made quick work of Harcum College, sending the Bears back to Bryn Mawr, Pennsylvania with a 92-63 defeat.
The Knights again finished with multiple student-athletes in double figures, led by Gagan who had 17 points (5-9), four steals and made 5-of-6 from the free throw line.
Moye finished with 16 points (5-10) and four assists and Horton had 14 (5-14) off the bench.
Although the Bears kept Flynn off the score sheet, she did finish with 10 rebounds (seven defensive) and three blocked shots.
The Knights head to New York this weekend for the Mustangs’ Thanksgiving Classic, hosted by Monroe College (New Rochelle, N.Y.).
On Saturday, Essex plays ASA Brooklyn and takes on host Monroe on Sunday. Tipoffs are scheduled for 6 p.m. and 2 p.m., respectively.
Facts About the Game
* Moye leads Knights with 17.8 points per game She ranks 34th out of more than 500 in NJCAA Division II and had a season-high 21 vs. Cape Fear.
* Gagan is Knights’ second leading scorer at 15.5 points per game…career-high 23 vs. Mercer County…leads team averaging 2.5 steals per game…started all six games
* Horton is Knights’ third leading scorer with 14 points per game. She had a career-high 20 points vs. Union County.
* Flynn leads Knights averaging 11 rebounds per game, which is tied for 23rd out of more than 500 in NJCAA Division II…averaging 2.2 blocks per game, tied 23rd NCAA Division II.
