The Return of MCCC Women's Basketball

1/2/24

 

MCCC is excited for the return of women’s basketball.  The program has been on hiatus for two years, but will be back in action for the 2024-2025 season.

 

The women’s basketball team at MCCC has a strong history and tradition.  The program which began in 1975-76 as a club team, has over 600 wins (608 to be exact).  Bob Fusik will become just the eighth coach in program history.  Fusik comes to MCCC with a very impressive high school resume.  While at Trenton Catholic Academy, Fusik went 93-9 and helped TCA to become one of the top girls' basketball programs in the state.  Fusik will look to lead MCCC women's basketball back into competition for the 2024-2025 season.

 

The MCCC women's basketball program had a great deal of success under longtime coach  Mike Tenaglia, who coached Vikings women's basketball for 30 years from 1990-2020 and earned over 400 career wins. The program had 14 consecutive winning seasons between 1998 and 2005 and won seven Region 19 titles during this time.

 

In 1999-2000, the Vikings went 28-3, finishing with the most wins in program history.  In 1979-80, the Vikings went 27-3, the second most wins in program history.  There have been nine 20 or more win seasons in Vikings’ women’s basketball history, the last coming in 2009-10 when MCCC went 21-9.

 

In addition to successful coaches, MCCC women’s basketball has had many talented players put on a Vikings uniform.  There have been six women’s basketball All-Americans at MCCC: Terry Dorner, Mary Smith, Kenya Taylor, Patti Foley and Jeanette Bell.  There has been only one two-time women’s basketball All-American and that is Taylor, who is being inducted into the MCCC Athletic Hall of Fame in June.

 

Terry Dorner helped lead the MCCC women’s basketball to its first National Tournament appearance in 1980. During her first year at Mercer, Dorner became the college’s first Women’s Basketball All-American. Dorner was also the first women’s basketball players to score over 1,000 points while at Mercer. Additionally, she set a national single-game scoring record, with 49 points scored in a regional game.

 

Dorner continued her basketball career at Rutgers University, where she earned Kodak District II Honorable Mention All-American honors in 1982. Dorner helped Rutgers win the 1982 AIAW National Championship. Following her graduation from Rutgers University, Dorner played professionally overseas in Sweden, Spain, and Italy.  Dorner has been inducted into the Rutgers Athletics Hall of Fame (1996) and MCCC Athletic Hall of Fame in 2021.

 

There are four Vikings women’s players who have scored 1,000 points in two years.  Dorner in 1980, Maleena Edwards in 1998, Patti Foley in 2007 and Alexis Sweet in 2011.

 

Mary Smith was inducted into the MCCC Athletic Hall of Fame in 2022. Smith scored 46 points in a game vs. Bucks County Community College, tying the record set by Terry Dorner in 1982. Smith became the second MCCC Women’s Basketball All-American. After two seasons at MCCC, Smith transferred to Cheyney University, where she was the top rebounder in the country and was named All-Conference both years. After college, Smith played a season of professional women’s basketball in Switzerland.

 

Angelica Stec who was inducted into the MCCC Athletic Hall of Fame in 2023, is the current Head Women’s Basketball Coach at Iona University. While at MCCC, Stec helped lead the Vikings to two Region 19 Championships.  Stec scored 442 points in one season (1999-2000) and earned Region 19 Player of the Year honors that season. Stec went on to play at Long Island University and served in several NCAA Division I Assistant Coaching roles before becoming Head Coach at Farleigh Dickinson and now Iona.

 

When women’s basketball returns in 2024-2025, the Vikings will compete in Region 19 Division II.  There are eight DII opponents in the Region that the Vikings will play twice during the season: County College of Morris, Essex County College, Harcum College, Lackawanna College, Middlesex County College, Raritan Valley CC, Salem County College and Union County College.

 

There is a strong history of women’s basketball at MCCC and we are excited to bring back this program and continue the success and tradition of Vikings women’s basketball!

 

For more information about MCCC women’s basketball, contact Head Coach Bob Fusik at fusikr@mccc.edu