Mercer County Women’s Basketball: A New Era Begins Under Coach Bob Fusik

When Mercer County Community College Women’s basketball head coach Bob Fusik accepted the position on December 2023, people did not believe he could revive the program, which had been dormant for three years.

You see, Fusik did not have much time to recruit decent players, as most student-athletes were committed by that point. But the Viking coaching staff was able to build a roster of a number of solid players. That alone was a small victory for the fledgling program, given the time crunch, of course.

“When I took the job, people from Mercer (fans) said it would be very difficult,” Fusik recalled of putting ateam together. “Now, here we are, playing in games. I couldn’t have done it without my coaching staff: Sherika Salmon and Frank Moore. Sherika has been with me since my TCA (Trenton Catholic Academy) days.”

Currently, in the early going, the Vikings have proved that they can hold their own on the hardwood, going undefeated in three scrimmages, winning all tilts by decent margins.

Mercer County, a division II program that competes in the National Junior College Athletic Conference (NJCAA) Region XIX Conference, sports a talented core, including four players from Spain:  freshman guards Ariadna Acosta Camacho and Alexandra (Xana) Garcia Galan, and sophomore forwards Carla Cancerrero Gallego and Lia Sekhniashvili.

Plus, a few New Jersey natives in sophomore guard Gabriella Ross, freshman guard Jayla Jones and sophomore forward Jada Queen, among other players.

Tuesday night, the Vikings went out and routed Passaic County, 121-43, in a scrimmage on the road.

“We played well,” Fusik said. “Our Spain kids are really good. I like them. They play hard.”

As for how well Mercer County will perform overall this season, Fusik said, “We’re not very deep, but we like to think we’ll be competitive. That’s our goal. I think we’ll be fun to watch.

“My prediction was to field a team,” he continued. “We started in Baltimore at the CCBC Essex Jamboree. We won both games there. As a first-year program, nobody would know who we are without being there, so it helped to play there and win.”

While Fusik would love to be victorious off the bat and keep it up from there, he said it has been a blast thus far.

“It’s been a fun ride,” he said. “We’ll see what happens the rest of the way.”

The regular season tips off Monday at 5:00 p.m. against D1 Hartford Community College in Bel Air, Maryland. Then, the Vikings’ home opener will take place on Saturday, November 9th at noon versus Rowan College South Jersey (RCSJ) Gloucester.

— Jerry Del Priore