Following the 72-54 loss to Syracuse in the second round of the WNIT, the Seton Hall women’s basketball team is beginning to look different already as two players have entered the transfer portal.
The first player to announce their intent to transfer was senior forward Mya Bembry. Bembry transferred to Seton Hall at the start of her sophomore year after playing one year at Penn State, where she averaged 1.5 points and 2.8 rebounds in 13 minutes per game.
Her first season was affected by COVID-19, which limited action on the floor. She started in eight of her 21 games played and averaged 4.3 points and 5 rebounds in 21 minutes. Bembry’s sophomore year was defined by a game-winning shot in the Big East quarterfinal against Creighton, a game in which she had a 12-point, 10-rebound double-double to move Seton Hall to the semifinal against Villanova.
Her role increased yearly as she started 29 of 36 games during her junior campaign and averaged 6.2 rebounds. She played a pivotal role in the Pirates’ successes during the 2022 WNIT run, where the team made it all the way to the finals, though they lost to South Dakota State.
Bembry started 30 of her 33 games played this past season, averaging 4.5 points, 5.5 rebounds, and a steal a game on 50% shooting in almost 30 minutes of action. Her role, simply enough, was to do a little bit of everything for Seton Hall, and that role was certainly fulfilled.
“I’d like to thank Pirate nation for an amazing experience… I will always be grateful for these last 3 years…” Bembry said in her Instagram post announcing her decision.
Victoria Keenan is the most recent Pirate to explore the transfer portal. Keenan played her entire career at The Hall, though riddled with injury. She played in 11 games during her freshman year. She saw more action her sophomore year as she appeared in 14 games where she averaged 4 points on 62% from behind-the-arc and nearly 60% overall.
Keenan missed the entire 2021-2022 season while rehabbing from an injury. Her timeline saw over 1,000 days missed until she came back towards the back-half of the 2022-2023 season. In her senior season, she started in four of her 15 games played and averaged 3.3 points. She was effective from downtown and gave the Pirates a much-needed spark, though the season was cut short.
“I…want to thank Coach Bozzella & his staff for giving me the opportunity to live out my dream of playing Division 1 basketball…thank you to Pirate nation for all the love and support,” Keenan said in her Instagram announcement.
Coach Bozzella has always been active in the transfer portal, bringing in six new faces last offseason, and he will continue to rebuild this team back to the dominant force it has been. There is also plenty of time until high school seniors make their final decisions on where they will continue their athletic and academic careers, which will help Bozzella add additional names on the 2023-2024 roster.
Thomas Donnelly can be reached at thomas.donnelly@student.shu.edu. Find him on Twitter @_tommyd023.
