Knights Dominant in Return to Hardwood, Top Bears 86-53

Bryn Mawr, Pa. -- In their first game in 605 days, the No. 19 Knights dominated Harcum College on the road, picking up an 86-53 season-opening victory. 

"Our staff was thrilled by our performance on defense," said Knights head coach Mike Seney. "Harcum has a lot of players who can put the ball in the basket and we really took a lot of what they like to do away."

In what was a back and forth affair early, the Bears jumped out to a 7-6 lead.

Seney called a timeout and his squad responded, going on a 16-0 run and took a 22-7 lead.

They never looked back.

CCBC Essex was led defensively by Patricia Anumgba and Anasia Staton. 

Anumgba had a game-high six steals and nine defensive rebounds. She finished with a double-double on 13 points and 11 total rebounds. 

Staton was right behind Anumgba with eight defensive boards (11 total) and had two steals to go with six points.

Lyric Swann paced the offense, ending with a game-high 26 points on 9-19 (47.3%) shooting and 6-9 at the free throw line.

Swann finished with a double-double, adding 13 assists. She also had six rebounds and a steal.

The Knights (1-0) took a 53-18 lead into the break.

While the Bears outscored Essex 35-33 in the second half, the Knights had already done plenty of damage in the first two quarters.

Kendal Haggerty and Jaelyn Swann had two three pointers apiece, while Promise Cunningham came off the bench with a huge spark on defense and managed to contribute nine points on 4-10 (40%) shooting.

"I was really happy to see us still score the ball even though we didn't shoot it how we wanted to from long distance," Seney said. "A lot of that had to do with Lyric and Patricia and the pressure they put on the [Bears'] defense getting down hill in the gaps and finding teammates or scoring themselves."

Next up

The Knights will head south for the Carly Rae Classic, hosted by Cape Fear Community College. 

Essex faces Brunswick Community College on Friday and Cape Fear on Saturday. 

On November 11, Seney and company hit 95 North for a meeting with Delaware Technical Community College. 

Essex opens its home slate on November 13 against Monroe College. Spectators are currently not permitted, so make sure to watch and subscribe to the Knights YouTube channel for all home live streams.

Follow Knights women's basketball on Twitter @Knights_Wbb and Instagram @ccbcessex_wbb.