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COTTEY BASKETBALL: COMETS RELOADED
Jason Peake
Daily Mail Sports Editor
A work in progress.
That's the way Dave Ketterman refers to his Cottey College basketball team as the 2011-12 season begins.
The eighth year coach of the Comets has just two returning players on this year's roster to go along with 10 newcomers.
With so many new faces this season, Ketterman acknowledged it may take some time for the team to come together.
"We're still a work in progress," Ketterman said. "We're still trying to find out what we do best and what combinations are going to be the best for us."
The Comets went 19-4 last year and lost in the first round of the region tourney to North Central. At one point last season the Comets won 15-straight contests.
Returning players
The Comets have just two sophomores on this year's roster -- Santana Cruz and Jordan Davidson.
Cruz, a 5-9 forward from Conway, was a first team all-region performer last year.
Cruz averaged 16 points, seven rebounds and just under three assists a game last year before a knee injury ended her season. She scored in double figures in 12 of 14 games last year, including a 27-point game.
Cruz has rehabbed her knee, and although she missed the first game of the season due to an illness, should be a go-to player for the Comets.
"She's really an exceptional athlete," Ketterman said. "She's actually an under-sized post player and we're trying to develop her perimeter game."
During her prep days, Cruz was an all-state player in basketball, volleyball and track.
Next, Davidson is a 5-6 guard from Buffalo who was a second team all-region pick last year. Davidson poured in 28 points in the team's season-opener.
"Hopefully we won't need her to do that every game," Ketterman said. "She really stepped up for us."
Davidson averaged eight points, four assists and three rebounds a game last season.
Ketterman said both Cruz and Davidson will be counted on to lead the way for the Comets this season.
"I'm confident they will both be pretty solid for us," Ketterman said.
Newcomers
There are 10 newcomers to the team this season.
The team's top newcomers include Chelsey Rowland, Blaklee Sanders, Bailey Braden and Petra Stankovic. Rowland is a 5-4 guard from Skyline.
"She's a tough, hard-nosed player that does a lot of things well," Ketterman said.
Upon entering high school at Skyline, Rowland started every varsity game in four years -- all 132 games.
Next, Sanders is a 5-9 forward who graduated from Atchison, Kan. where she played for Lacy Leonard-Warren. She played three years at Bentonville, Ark.
Braden is a 5-11 forward from Logan-Rogersville. In the first game of the season, Braden had 12 blocks and 12 rebounds for the Comets.
Braden recorded 13 double-doubles during her senior year at Logan-Rogersville.
Ketterman said both Braden and Sanders can rebound, play defense and are capable scorers, too.
Another top newcomer is the 5-11 Stankovic.
Stankovic was a member of Croatia's 18-and-under national team. She was red-shirted at NEO A&M last year before transferring to Cottey.
"She has a lot of skills," Ketterman said. "We're trying to find out how she's going to fit in with the team. She hasn't played much the last couple of years."
There are several other newcomers who also have the ability to contribute this year, Ketterman said.
Reanna Henderson is a 5-4 guard from Rockwood, Tenn. and Kylie Eldredge is a 5-7 shooting guard/small forward from Richland. Eldredge made 297 three-pointers in high school.
Next, Savanna Cornelius is a 5-7 Mansfield product and is a two-guard/small forward with three-point range.
All three of those players give the team more depth at the guard positions, and Ketterman noted all can shoot fairly well.
"We've got more guards than we've ever had," Ketterman said. "That's not all bad."
There's some size on the roster, too. Tasha Reilley is a 6-1 post player from Duchesne, Utah and Lanie Skaggs is a six-foot forward from Carl Junction. Both can provide an inside presence. Another forward is Jessica Holland, a 5-9 Everton native. Holland scored 1,500 points and grabbed 1,000 rebounds in her high school career.
Outlook
Cottey is ranked 11th in one preseason D-II poll. Ketterman admitted he was a little surprised by that spot in the poll.
"It has to be based on what we did last year," he said.
Ketterman has the expectations set high for his team, but noted the team's schedule is not an easy one.
"I think we can be as good as we were last year, but our schedule is a lot tougher this year," Ketterman said.
"We replaced seven winnable games with seven really tough games," he continued. "There's nothing easy about our schedule."
Cottey has added games with several Kansas Jayhawk Conference teams, and Crowder, all D-I schools. The school lost dates with Baptist Bible (a team Cottey beat twice last year) and lost games with some of the St. Louis jucos that have consolidated. North Central, St. Louis-Forest Park and Penn Valley should also be tough this year, Ketterman noted.
Overall, Ketterman has been pleased with what he's seen out of his team thus far. After losing several solid players from last year's team, the Comets have reloaded.
"This group works hard and seems to like each other," Ketterman said. "The freshmen are real receptive to what we're trying to do. If we put things together, and if we stay healthy, we can be successful."
Ketterman hopes to keep the winning tradition in place at Cottey, too. Cottey has had seven-straight winning seasons.
"We've had a lot of good teams here, we've had kids that work hard and do the right things, and we've had some over-achievers," he said. "Hopefully, we'll continue to do that."
COTTEY BASKETBALL
2011-12 Cottey roster
Sophomores
Santana Cruz (5-9 F)
Jordan Davidson (5-6 G)
Freshmen
Chelsey Rowland (5-4 G)
Reanna Henderson (5-4 G)
Petra Stankovic (5-11 F)
Melanie Skaggs (6-0 F)
Jessica Holland (5-9 G/F)
Kylie Eldredge (5-8 G/F)
Savanna Cornelius (5-7 G)
Bailey Braden (5-11 F)
Blaklee Sanders (5-9 F)
Tasha Reilley (6-1 F/C)
Head Coach: Dave Ketterman
Assistant: Marla Foreman
2011-12 Schedule
11-1 at Mo. Valley JV, W
11-11 at Allen Co. Classic
11-12 at Allen Co. Classic
11-15 at Central Methodist
11-17 vs. Ozark Christian
11-21 at Labette
11-30 vs. Mo. Valley JV
12-9 vs. Fort Scott
1-6 vs. Cen. Methodist JV
1-11 at Crowder
1-14 at Forest Park
1-18 at North Central
1-21 at Hesston
1-24 vs. Ottawa JV
1-27 at Penn Valley
2-1 vs. North Central
2-4 vs. Forest Park, 1 p.m.
2-8 vs. Crowder
2-11 at North Ark.
2-16 vs. Penn Valley
2-23 vs. Hesston
3-1 vs. North Ark.
3-9 Region playoffs, TBA.
Home dates in bold.
Home games at 6 p.m. unless noted