Head coach Ashley Sammons rewrote the record books in her third and fourth seasons at the helm of the women’s basketball program. The former point guard transformed the Fighting Owls into one of the most feared teams in the conference after an amazing 48-10 record during the past two seasons.
Sammons’ quick style of play forced a school-record turnovers that led to transition buckets and points that at times were almost too high to count. The Harford offense led the league and ranked in the top 10 in the nation in scoring.
Sammons led the Fighting Owls to back-to-back NJCAA Region XX Championships, besting Baltimore City in both finals. In 2013, Harford won the title on its home floor and last year, took the crown at Baltimore City.
The 2013-14 Fighting Owls were led by Capree Garner, who was named a finalist for the WBCA Player of the Year Finalist and All-American after again leading the nation in scoring with a 28.1 ppg average. Under Sammons guidance, Garner finished the year as the school's all-time leader in scoring with 1,497 points and 246 steals.
In 2012-13, the Fighting Owls boasted a pair of All-Americans during the 2012-13 season, sophomore Tiffany Taylor and freshman Capree Garner, who ranked No. 1 & 2 in the conference in scoring. Garner led the league and ranked second in the nation with 22.5 ppg. She received All-American honors from the NJCAA and the WBCA (Women's Basketball Coaches' Association). Taylor ranked third in the nation with 22.0 ppg while collecting All-American praise from the WBCA.
| Year | Record |
|---|
| 2014-15 | 5-3 |
| 2013-14 | 23-6 |
| 2012-13 | 25-4 |
| 2011-12 | 11-16 |
| 2010-11 | 10-17 |
| Total | 74-46 |
Sammons was a mentor to perhaps the best Fighting Owl women's basketball player in school history in Taylor. The scoring threat became the first Fighting Owl to score 1,000 points while finishing her career with a school-record 1,139 points.The 2012-13 campaign set numerous school records and school firsts under Sammons' leadership. Harford won the 2013 MD JUCO Regular Season Title, earning Sammons the MD JUCO Coach of the Year trophy. The 25 wins was by far the most in school history, and the Fighting Owls were ranked in the NJCAA Division I Coaches' Poll for the first time in program history.
The Fighting Owls came within one win of reaching the NJCAA National Tournament and also reached the MD JUCO Championship Game for the first time in school history.Sammons was formerly a point guard at West Chester University, a Division II school near Philadelphia. Sammons comes to Harford after a successful start in the AAU ranks. Most recently, she was the head coach and assistant director of the Chesco Lightning Girls AAU team in West Chester, Pa. Sammons has been heavily involved in AAU basketball as a coach for the past four years.
Sammons is also the founder of Just Hoops Basketball Charity Mini-Camp, which she created in 2005, and Next Level Training, which she created for the tri-state area in 2008. The former point guard is still active as the area director of HoopEd, a youth basketball camp in Prince George and Howard counties.As a vocal member of the Golden Ram women’s basketball team at West Chester from 2004-07, Sammons helped lead the team to back-to-back Pennsylvania State Athletic Conference (PSAC) East Championships as a freshman and sophomore. As a freshman, Sammons’ Golden Rams lost in the PSAC Tournament to California (Pa.), who went on to win the NCAA Division II National Championship.
Sammons, a native of Boothwyn, Pa., attended Sanford High School in Hockessin, Del. where she was an All-State and All-Conference basketball player who reached the illustrious 1,000-point plateau. She was awarded the 2004 Female Athlete of the Year.
