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Women's Basketball By: Jim Hague

Scarlet Raider Profile: Samiyah Horton

While most of the world was hunkered down in their homes with the coronavirus COVID-19 bringing everything to a halt, Samiyah Horton was busy as a nursing assistant at Columbus Hospital in Newark.

Horton, a junior guard on the Rutgers-Newark women's basketball team, has been certified to be a nurse's assistant since her high school days. So as COVID-19 was reaching its peak locally, Horton found herself treating tons of patients who were infected with the deadly virus.

"It was crazy," Horton said. "I had to wear a hazmat suit all the time. A lot of my patients had COVID, so we had to be careful. I witnessed a lot of deaths first hand. I helped with their needs, getting the patients bathed and dressed. Columbus Hospital reached out to me while I was still in high school to see if I was interested in working there. I was thinking that maybe I could eventually become a nurse, that I would be able to help people. I had to learn quickly that I couldn't get too attached to the patients, because they might be gone. I just tried to go to work every day with a smile on my face and be as helpful as I could be. A couple of my patients passed away, so that was hard. I was just happy to get through all of that."

Still, Horton loved what she was doing.

"I loved my job," Horton said. "I was blessed to be working with a bunch of great doctors and nurses. It's what I want to do."

Horton is currently the leading scorer for the Scarlet Raiders, averaging more than 20 points per game. She has already had one game where she scored 36 points against Kean and another against FDU-Florham where she registered a triple double (22 points, 11 rebounds and 10  steals). She has developed into one of the best performers in the New Jersey Athletic Conference.

Horton is a native of Newark who played for the famed Newark Tech basketball program. But she didn't get a lot of attention, playing on a team that had a handful of NCAA Division I products.

So Rutgers-Newark head coach Ashley Cieplicki jumped at the chance to recruit Horton.

"I think it started during Samiyah's junior year, when I was recruiting someone else on her team," Cieplicki said. "She really didn't have a good high school career. But we got lucky to get her. She's probably the most talented player in our league."

"I really just wanted to stay close to home," Horton said. "I knew Rutgers was one of the top schools in the country. For me, academics come first. I could come to Rutgers, play basketball and still excel academically."

Cieplicki thinks that Horton is just scraping the surface with her ability as a player.

"She is not even showing what she could do," Cieplicki said. "I think she had the talent all along, but she's now working with Laurin Mincy (the Scarlet Raiders' assistant coach) on a lot of different things, like her three-point shot, which has gotten better.

She has a nice mid-range game and she can get to the rim. She's not as confident as I would like her to be. But she's in the gym all the time, wanting to get better. Having Laurin on the staff has been a big help. The two work together a lot before practice."

Cieplicki loves Horton's dedication to the game.

"She plays all summer long," Cieplicki said. "She wants to play all the time. I think she really has untapped potential."

Horton said that she really didn't get in the gym as much as she would have liked to.

"I do have a basketball court in my backyard and I practice there a lot," Horton said. "I come from a big boy family, so I learned how to play with the boys in my family. I had to get rough with them in order to play. I have cousins that live with me. I think one day I decided that I wasn't losing to them anymore. So I worked hard on my shooting and dribbling. I knew my hard work would eventually pay off."

It certainly is this season, evidenced by the scoring explosion.

"We always knew she had it in her," Cieplicki said. "We knew she had the talent. She's been a nice surprise for us. She's shown us even more than what we expected."

Horton is an excellent student as well. She's majoring in psychology with a minor in cognitive neuroscience. Sounds impressive.

"I want to be a therapist," Horton said. "I want to work with kids that could use my help, kids that don't have enough help. I would like to possibly work at a school."

Horton credits her mother, Shauna Horton, for helping her gain some confidence.

"When I first came here, I had to play behind the Ashby sisters, so I learned a lot," Horton said. "My mother would always tell me that I would get my turn. I knew I didn't shoot it much, so I had to make the shots go in. My mother is my biggest cheerleader. She's my emotional leader. She talks to me all the time and tells me go to into the game and be aggressive. My Mom has kept me grounded. I thank my Mom for helping me all the time. I think it was more of a mental thing. If I miss a shot, I know I have to snap out of it quick. I know I'm capable of some good things in basketball."

Horton has not returned to the hospital this semester, concentrating on school and basketball. But she more than likely will return to work once the season is over.

"I can get a job there in the summer for sure," Horton said.

You can't beat her experience, nor her personality. Samiyah Horton has it going on.
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Players Mentioned

Samiyah Horton

#3 Samiyah Horton

G
5' 7"
Sophomore

Players Mentioned

Samiyah Horton

#3 Samiyah Horton

5' 7"
Sophomore
G