History Made: No. 3 Knights Win 40th Straight, Set New NJCAA Record

Monaca, Pa. - There's an old saying in sports: records are made to be broken.

That's exactly what CCBC Essex women's basketball did yesterday afternoon, defeating Community College of Beaver County 114-44 to win its 40th consecutive game and set a new NJCAA Division II record. It was the Knights third game in as many days.

The record had stood since the 2008-09 season when Kirkwood Community College won 39 straight.

"It's pretty amazing to be all alone at the top of a certain record," said head coach Mike Seney. "We just want to stay in the moment and continue to go 1-0 each game."

The No. 5 ranked Knights (21-0) tied the record on Saturday after beating Garrett College 103-65.

Essex began the streak on December 15, 2019 with an 85-43 win over Genesee Community College.

They would end the season 30-2 and the 9th seed in the NJCAA Division II Tournament that would ultimately be canceled due to the COVID-19 pandemic.

Unfortunately, the Knights 2020-21 season would also never happened, again as a result of the pandemic.

"Not having a season last year was tough," Seney said. "We really didn't have a team and it was just tough to build continuity. This season was a completely new team, with new goals an aspirations." 

Seney also stressed that while the record is an amazing accomplishment, there's still more to be done. 

"Our goal from day one has been to win a national championship," he said. "The consecutive wins record is huge, it's not the biggest deal of our season, and that's to win a national championship."

The Knights look to get closer to the ultimate goal tomorrow, as they return home to host Harford Community College. 

It's the first time spectators will be welcomed back to CCBC Essex, although on 25% capacity. 

Doors open at 5 p.m. and tipoff is scheduled for 6 p.m.