No. 4 CCBC Essex claims SC4 ThumbCoast Tip-Off title with win over No. 22 Harcum

Written by: Paul Costanzo

PORT HURON, Mich. -- When the time came to collect the SC4 ThumbCoast Tip-Off championship trophy Saturday night, Gigi Gamble's CCBC Essex women's basketball teammates nearly shoved her to go out and get it.

The sophomore guard closed out a spectacular tournament with her best performance yet, scoring 30 points in the Knights' 81-65 title game victory against Harcum College at St. Clair County Community College. She celebrated by hoisting the trophy above her head as her teammates mobbed her at center court of the SC4 Fieldhouse.

"I'm screaming because I've honestly never felt like a champion before," Gamble said, still clutching the trophy. "Today, this is the first time I felt like a champion with my entire team. We all deserve it. We all deserve to be here. I'm so excited and very happy."

It's the second straight trip to SC4 that ended with a trophy for the Knights, as they won the 2023 National Junior College Athletic Association Division II National Championship at the Fieldhouse.

That was the first title in program history, and on Saturday, they became the first SC4 ThumbCoast Tip-Off champions.

"It means everything," Essex coach Mike Seney said. "We won our first national championship here and when (SC4 Director of Athletics Dale Vos) put this together I told him, like, I need it. I need to be in here. I need to breathe. Because the talent – we had eight great teams here this weekend. Great teams. Eight of the best 20, 30 teams in all of America. So, the fact that we were able to come out on top kind of says a lot about our ball club."

Essex (Rossville, Md.), which is ranked No. 4 in the NJCAA Division II top 25 poll, defeated Lansing, which is receiving votes in the poll, in the first round, and No. 6 Lake Land College (Mattoon, Ill.) in the semifinal.

Its reward was a date with rival Harcum (Bryn Mawr, Penn.), which is ranked 22nd.

Essex blitzed Harcum out of the gate, blocking the Bears' first shot attempt in the opening seconds, then building a 13-0 lead 3:01 into the game.

Harcum regrouped, however, and cut the lead to two by halftime.

"They're a rival, any time we're able to compete with them is a good time," Harcum coach Garrett Horton said. "For me, that first half, I think that we were able to fight back from being down 13. We were able to regroup. We got stops when we needed to get stops in the first half. Second half, we looked very lethargic, and the issue that I saw was that we weren't putting the ball in the hoop. When we can put the ball in the hoop and set our defense, we're a different team."

Essex used a 26-15 third quarter to stretch its lead out again and take control of the game. Gamble scored 13 points in the quarter, which she opened with a 3-pointer on the Knights first possession.

"Honestly, it was a lot of Gigi Gamble," Seney said. "She's a kid that's not really afraid of the challenge. The first part of the first quarter, and the first part of the second half, there was a lot of Gigi Gamble that kind of propelled us. When you've got a kid like that, and you've got so many pieces around her, it's hard to guard everything."

Paige Smith added 10 points and eight rebounds for Essex, while Antionique Auston had nine points and 11 rebounds, and Tyasia Williams added nine points.

Kelsey Bess led Harcum with 15 points and 10 rebounds, while Sofia Vitucci had 13 points and eight rebounds, and Bryce Harvey-Carr had 11 points.

"Great experience, we were able to come out here and get the bump that you want to get when you come to tournaments like this," Horton said. "The big thing for me is, I like the preseason NIT-type feel. You're able to kind of get the kinks out and feel what high-level basketball is so that you can kind of put that in your pocket and re-tool. Essex is right up the road, so we're going to see them two more times. We'll be ready."

No. 4 CCBC Essex 81, Harcum College 65 (Box Score)

The ThumbCoast Tip-Off is presented by SC4 along with Discover the Blue, and is sponsored by McLaren Port Huron, LiUNA Local 1075, SEMCO Energy, Troy Cleaners, DoubleTree Port Huron, Standard Office Supply, Buffalo Wild Wings, All-Star Services, ThumbCoast Realty, LLC, Reyes Coca-Cola Bottling, Earl Smith Distributing Co., 4Sports, Body Armor and Casey's.

St Clair County Community College (SC4) was founded in 1923 and is the only public higher education institution in the thumb of Michigan. SC4 is a comprehensive community college that provides certificates and degrees for employable skills and college credits that can be transferred to a four-year college or university. The college provides collegiate arts and athletics for the area and has been an asset for students and the Port Huron community for over one hundred years.  

For media inquiries, please contact Sarah Rutallie, Chief of Staff/Senior Vice President, SC4, at srutallie@sc4.edu

ThumbCoast Tip-Off Results/Schedule

Thursday:

• Game 1: Lake Land 64, Edison State 58
• Game 2: CCBC Essex 90, Lansing 73
• Game 3: Mesa 64, Mid Michigan 56
• Game 4: Harcum 64, SC4 61

Friday:

• Game 5: Lansing 79, Edison State 52
• Game 6: SC4 85, Mid Michigan 84
• Game 7: CCBC Essex 68, Lake Land 58
• Game 8: Harcum 54, Mesa 52

Saturday:

• Seventh-Place Game: Mid Michigan 84, Edison State 66
• Fifth-Place Game: SC4 70, Lansing 68
• Third-Place Game: Lake Land 57, Mesa 51
• Championship Game: CCBC Essex 81, Harcum 65