Cottey Comets Basketball

Back in February, when Dr. Maryann Mitts was introduced as the new athletic director and head basketball coach at Cottey College, she called the opportunity a dream come true. On Monday, after making a few introductions of her own — for her first three department hires: a new assistant hoops coach, a new esports head coach, and a new flag football head coach and sports information director — Mitts indicated she has yet to be pinched awake from her reverie...

The Cottey College athletic department on Monday introduced the three newest faces who will be roaming its sidelines this upcoming school year. At a press conference inside the Rogers Fine Arts Building, Dr. Maryann Mitts — in her first season as athletic director and head basketball coach at Cottey — said in her opening remarks to a room of media members and college staff that the most important work she’s undertaken in her first few months in Nevada has been hiring new coaches...

The Cottey College basketball team added four more players for next season, including one who will pull double duty as a member of the Comets volleyball squad. Dylan Cantu, out of Robert Vela High School in Edinburg, Tex., was the first of the four to sign her national letter of intent, agreeing to play both basketball and volleyball at Cottey...

The new head basketball coach at Cottey College added the first new players to her roster this past week. Maryann Mitts, who was announced as the school's new hoops coach and athletic director in February, made her own announcement this time around — revealing three recruits who have signed letters of intent to join the Comets basketball team next season...

Special to the Daily Mail On Thursday, Cottey College announced the hiring of Stephanie Beason as its new athletic director and head basketball coach. She replaces Dave Ketterman, who left Cottey to accept a position as assistant women's basketball coach at Northeastern State University, in Oklahoma...

Nevada Daily Mail TAHLEQUAH, Okla. -- Northeastern State University women's basketball coach Randy Gipson announced Tuesday the hiring of Dave Ketterman as the new assistant coach for the program. Ketterman joins the RiverHawks after having spent the past 10 seasons as the athletics director and head women's basketball coach at Cottey College, in Nevada...

Nevada Daily Mail Several athletes from each of the three athletics teams Cottey College fielded during last school year received awards at the school's annual awards ceremony, May 17. Individual awards for the Comets basketball, volleyball and softball teams were announced by volleyball coach Marla Kannady Foreman, while softball coach Shelli Stanley handed out the awards. ...

SEDALIA, Mo. -- Top-seeded North Central Missouri College defeated Wentworth Military Academy by a final score of 93-84 and the St. Louis Community College Lady Archers downed the Cottey College Comets, 82-47, Saturday, in the NJCAA D-II Region XVI Tournament semifinals at State Fair Community College...

Despite not having a national Player of the Week since Lacy (Leonard) Warren was a member of the Cottey College Comets basketball team in the 2006-07 season, head coach Dave Ketterman has now seen two of his players earn that honor in the same season...

Freshman Deborah Holcomb scored 14 of her team-leading 18 points in the second half to lead St. Louis Community College to a come-from-behind victory, 73-67, over the Cottey Comets Saturday afternoon, in the gym at Cottey's Hinkhouse Center. The Comets scored the first seven points of the game and held a 37-33 lead at halftime, before the Lady Archers tied the score early in the second half. After five lead changes, St. Louis pulled away for the six-point win to improve to 16-7 for the season...

Cottey College athletic director and head basketball coach Dave Ketterman announced Thursday that one of his players has received national recognition the Comets haven't seen in seven years. Caley Shaffstall became the first player since Lacy (Leonard) Warren played for Ketterman in the 2007 season to earn NJCAA Division-II Player of the Week honors, for the week of Feb. ...

By Greg Kepler Special to the Daily Mail In their second to last home game of the season, Dave Ketterman's team was poised to meet a team with a similar record on Tuesday night, at Hinkhouse Center. The 11-10 Comets hosted the Lady Pirates from North Central Missouri College, in Trenton, Mo., who also sported a near .500 record...

LEXINGTON, Mo. -- The Cottey College Comets basketball team went back out on the road and edged the Wenworth Military Academy Lady Red Dragons, 66-62, Saturday afternoon. Freshman Casey Heger led the Comets with 20 points on 8-for-14 field-goal shooting and pulled down 15 rebounds. ...

KANSAS CITY, Mo. -- The Cottey College Comets basketball team notched its 10th win of the season with one of its strongest performances in an 80-56 victory over the Lady Scouts of Penn Valley Community College Tuesday. Caley Shaffstall led the offensive effort for the Comets as she finished the night with 30 points. She also recorded a double-double in the contest as she finished with 13 rebounds...

The Cottey College Comets basketball team is 9-10 after posting an 82-56 victory over the Central Methodist junior varsity last Wednesday night, at the Hinkhouse Center, on the Cottey campus. The Comets' game Saturday afternoon, against North Arkansas College, was canceled due to inclement weather. Cottey athletic director and head basketball coach Dave Ketterman announced the cancellation Friday night...

By Eric Wade Daily Mail Sports Editor The Cottey College Comets basketball team made its return to the gym at Hinkhouse Center Wednesday night, thinking it might have a stiff challenge ahead when the Central Methodist University junior varsity squad came to town...

By Floyd Jernigan Nevada Daily Mail Five free throws in the final 16 seconds closed out the victory for host Cottey College Friday night, as the Comets topped Penn Valley in a back-and-forth game, 77-73. There were 19 lead changes in the Region XVI game, the first region outing for both teams. Cottey improved to 8-10 overall, while MCC Penn Valley, out of Kansas City, fell to 1-11...

TRENTON, Mo. -- The Cottey College Comets basketball team got back into action Tuesday night, hoping the get back on the winning track after a narrow defeat at the hands of Hesston College Saturday. In Saturday's contest, the Comets held a 29-28 lead at halftime, but ultimately fell just short as Hesston rallied in the second half to take a 58-56 victory. Casey Heger led the offensive effort in that contest with 24 points and was joined in double figures by Lindsey Denney, who finished with 12...

By Eric Wade Daily Mail Sports Editor The Cottey College Comets basketball team has been forced to play its last four games on the road, leaving head coach Dave Ketterman's squad road-weary, to say the least. For that reason, Wednesday's home contest against the Lady Red Devils of Wentworth Military Academy was a more than welcome experience...

ST. LOUIS, Mo. -- The St. Louis Community College Lady Archers improved to 11-3 on the season with am 85-69 victory over the Cottey College Comets Saturday. Forward Deborah Holcomb led the Lady Archers with 23 points and three of her teammates also scored in double figures. Four Comets scored in double figures, led by Cassie Hale with 18 points...

PARSONS, Kan. -- The Lady Cardinals of Labette County Community College scored 69 points in the first half on their way to an 85-76 victory over the Cottey College Comets Friday night. The Lady Cardinals hit 12 of their 24 attempts from behind the 3-point line as they improved to 8-6 on the season. Brittany Odom and Holly Ullery teamed up for seven treys and 36 points -- Odom with 19 and Ullery with 17...

By Greg Kepler Special to the Daily Mail The Lady Blue Devils from Kansas City, Kan., Community College brought a stellar 12-1 record to the Hinkhouse Center Tuesday night, to tangle with the Cottey Comets -- and tangle, they did. With at least six lead changes in the first half alone, the night's contest had all the trappings of a nail-biter...

FORT SCOTT -- The Cottey College Comets basketball team got back into action Monday night, hoping to rebound from a pair of tough losses in the Crowder Classic tournament over the weekend, taking on the Lady Greyhounds of Fort Scott Community College...

NEOSHO -- The Cottey College Comets basketball team entered the Crowder Classic tournament, Friday and Saturday, hoping to keep up their winning ways and get above the .500 mark for the season. That didn't happen, however, as the Comets simply couldn't find their rhythm and ultimately lost both of the games they played in the tournament...

By Greg Kepler Special to the Daily Mail In just the second game of the new season, Cottey College basketball coach Dave Ketterman summed up Thursday night's contest by saying, "It's good to get a win." His young team used its height advantage and defense to pull away from the visiting Missouri Valley junior varsity team in the waning minutes of the first half, only to see quite a fight midway through the second...

By Eric Wade Daily Mail Sports Editor The Cottey College Comets basketball team entered the season with a lot of questions to answer since head coach Dave Ketterman's squad returned just two players from last year's squad that finished the season with a record of 16-4...

Cottey College athletic director and head basketball coach Dave Ketterman pushed his total of new signees up to eight with the addition of four new names to the list. Joining earlier signees Linsey Denney, Machela VanGennip, Emily Allen and Alyssa Jones on next year's team will be Caley Shaffstall, Emily Ashley, Leiani Tautiepa and Ciera Wong. Those eight players will join returning letterwinners Cassie Hale, Caryli Ingles and Kat Zumalt on the 2013-14 Comets squad...

Cottey College athletic director and head basketball coach Dave Ketterman has added a pair of new names to his roster for the 2013-14 season. Machela VanGennip is a 5-foot, 7-inch guard from Delta High School in Delta, Mo. The daughter of Chris and Tabitha VanGennip, Machela was a four-time All-District, All-Conference and All-Region selection...

Head coach Dave Ketterman's Cottey College basketball team has added a pair of names to its 2013-14 roster. Linsey Denney is a 5-foot-10-inch guard/forward, from Everton, Mo. She will graduate from Everton High School with the Class of 2013 and is the daughter of Kim -- who was also her coach at Everton High School -- and Monte Gladden. ...

Nevada Daily Mail SEDALIA, Mo. -- The St. Louis Community College Lady Archers pulled away in the second half with a pair of 8-0 runs and defeated the Cottey Comets by a final score of 56-36, Saturday afternoon in the NJCAA D-II Region XVI semifinals at State Fair Community College...

Nevada Daily Mail SEDALIA, Mo. -- The Cottey College Comets basketball team is scheduled to play the Lady Archers of St. Louis Community College at 4 p.m., Saturday, in the NJCAA D-II Region XVI semifinals at State Fair Community College. Head coach Dave Ketterman's squad finished the regular season 16-3 overall, 5-3 against Region XVI rivals. The Lady Archers were 6-2 against regional rivals, but both losses came at the hands of the Comets...

By Eric Wade Nevada Daily Mail "It's one of the most severe sprains I've seen. I guess sprains can go anywhere from five days to three weeks. We just don't know." Cottey Comets head coach Dave Ketterman has found himself in a tough position as one of his best players, Dayna Turnbull, is out indefinitely thanks to a severely sprained ankle she suffered recently. ...

Nevada Daily Mail The Cottey Comets outlasted Wentworth Military, 58-50, Saturday afternoon in the gym at Hinkhouse Center on the Cottey campus. After 11 ties, the Comets used late free throws to pull away from a 49-49 tie for their 16th victory in 18 games this season. Wentworth is 5-21 after losses to North Arkansas in Kansas City Friday night and at Cottey Saturday...

The Cottey College basketball team is ranked No. 20 again this week in the NJCAA D-II rankings. Louisburg College is No. 1 and the Johnson County, Kan., Community College Lady Cavaliers are second. Head coach Dave Ketterman's Comets are 14-1 on the season as they prepare to host the Lady Archers of St. Louis Community College at 1 p.m., Saturday, at Hinkhouse Center on the campus at Cottey College...

Nevada Daily Mail The Cottey College Comets defeated Hesston College's Lady Larks, 73-62, Saturday afternoon in the gym at Hinkhouse Center on the Cottey College campus. Head coach Dave Ketterman's squad led, 39-27, at halftime on the way to its 14th victory in 15 games this season...

Nevada Daily Mail TRENTON, Mo. -- The Cottey College Comets kept their winning streak alive with a decisive, 71-48 victory over North Central Missouri College Wednesday night. It was a fairly even first half as the Comets entered the break with a narrow, 29-28 lead. However, Cottey turned it on both offensively and defensively in the second half, scoring 42 points and holding the LAdy Pirates to just 20...

The Cottey College Comets basketball team edged the Hesston College Lady Larks, 56-53, in overtime Friday night at Hesston, Kan. Hesston held a 35-23 lead at halftime, but the Comets battled back and eventually tied the game at 50 when the regulation clock expired. The Comets went on to win the overtime session, 6-3, to seal the victory...

By Eric Wade Nevada Daily Mail "That wasn't Penn Valley." Often times, coaches have a tendency to compare one performance to the next, but that simply wasn't possible for Cottey College Comets head coach Dave Ketterman after his squad earned its 11th win of the season by a final score of 81-58 over the junior varsity Eagles of Central Methodist Tuesday night at Hinkhouse Center...

Nevada Daily Mail Edwards, Miss., sophomore Jay Bland scored 28 points to lead the Penn Valley Lady Scouts to a 90-70 victory over the Cottey College Comets Saturday afternoon at Hinkhouse Center on the Cottey campus in the first home game for Cottey since Dec. 1, when head coach Dave Ketterman's squad defeated Southwest Iowa Community College by a final score of 46-36...

Nevada Daily Mail The Cottey College Comets rallied from a six-point deficit with 3 minutes, 40 seconds remaining in the game to defeat Wentworth Military Academy, 66-62, Wednesday night, at Lexington, Mo. Freshman Dayna Turnbull led Cottey with 20 points and was joined in double figures by second-year Comets Blaklee Sanders with 17 and Bailey Braden with 10. Selena Gochenour added four points for the Comets, while Petra Stankovic finished with two and Cassi Hale had one...

Nevada Daily Mail ST. LOUIS, Mo. -- The Cottey Comets improved to 9-0 on the season with an 82-70 overtime victory over the St. Louis Community College Lady Archers Saturday afternoon. Second-year Comets Petra Stankovic and Blaklee Sanders teamed up to score 39 points during the second half and in the extra session to lead Cottey's rally from a 32-27 halftime deficit. ...

Nevada Daily Mail The Cottey College Comets had little trouble getting their sixth win of the season as they rolled over Ozark Christian College Tuesday night by a final score of 104-36. Cottey awoke from its shooting slump three days earlier. On Saturday, the Comets could only muster 46 points throughout the entire game against Southwest Iowa...

Nevada Daily Mail The Cottey College Comets ended the home portion of the first-semester basketball schedule with a low-scoring victory over Southwest Iowa Community College Saturday, 46-36. The game was a very physical, sometimes sluggish battle with a lot of banging about in the lane. Freshman Kennadi Howard suffered a concussion on a drive to the basket in the second half and didn't return to the game...

By Eric Wade Nevada Daily Mail The Cottey College Comets basketball squad increased its season-opening winning streak to four games Monday with another home victory over the Vikings of Missouri Valley College. For the fourth time in as many games, more than half of the Comets players who entered the game made it into the scoring column and the Comets defeated the Missouri Valley JV squad by a final score of 71-52...

By Eric Wade Herald-Tribune NEVADA -- The Cottey College Comets got back into action Friday night after a three-day break, taking on the Fort Scott Community College Greyhounds in what head coach Dave Ketterman knew would be a tough contest before it even started. Ketterman was mostly right, but his squad didn't seem to mind the tough competition as the Comets dispatched Fort Scott by a final score of 70-51...

By Eric Wade Nevada Daily Mail "We really didn't say anything to them especially other than its the home opener. I mean, we had a lot of people here and we wanted to play well." Cottey Comets head basketball coach Dave Ketterman didn't say much to give his players extra motivation coming into Tuesday night's home opener against Ozark Christian College, but what little he did say worked wonders...

Herald-Tribune MARSHALL, Mo. -- The Cottey College Comets basketball team used a strong second half to open its 2012-'13 schedule with a 77-51 victory over the Missouri Valley College women's junior varsity squad Thursday night on the road. The Comets found themselves deadlocked in a 31-all tie at halftime before coach Dave Ketterman's squad turned up the heat and outscored Missouri Valley, 46-20, over the final 20 minutes to take the victory. ...

NEVADA -- Cottey College head basketball coach Dave Ketterman has signed two more players to play for the Comets next season. Jessica Holland of Everton, Mo., a 5' 9" forward, averaged 20 points, 11 rebounds, 3.9 steals, 3.6 assists and 1.1 blocked shots per game for her team. In her career at Everton, she scored over 1,500 points and hauled down over 1,100 rebounds. She was named First Team All-Conference and First Team All-District three times each...

All three of the Herald-Tribune area's junior college basketball teams will be in action this afternoon as post-season play gears up. Cottey College's women will host a first-round Region XVI Division II playoff game this afternoon at 2 p.m. at the Hinkhouse Center in Nevada against St. ...

Kansas City-Penn Valley edged the Cottey College Comets, 63-61 Thursday night in a Region XVI game at Hinkhouse. It was an up-tempo, fast-paced game and the Comets were initially caught off guard by the Lady Scouts full court press to open the game. In just over 5 minutes, Penn Valley had opened a 11-5 lead and the Comets were having trouble with their passing game. The Lady Scouts held a double-digit lead at 22-12 with just under 10 minutes to play when the Comets began to find their rhythm...

The Cottey College Comets traveled to Kansas City, Kan., on Friday and Saturday to tip off the basketball season against Kansas City Kansas Community College and Johnson County Community College in the Kansas City Kansas Community College Classic. The Comets lost on Friday to KCKCC 67-44, and were defeated on Saturday by Johnson County 73-41...

The Cottey College Comets earned their fifth consecutive win and 12th of the year with a very solid performance against the Fury of St. Louis Community College-Florissant Valley Saturday afternoon. The Comets expected to have a tough contest ahead of them going into the day and the first half proved to be just that. "Flo Valley will always battle you and we knew that coming in," head coach Dave Ketterman said...

The Cottey College Comets are on a two-game winning streak after defeating Rhema Bible College in Tulsa, Okla., Thursday night by the score of 58-46. This was the second win over Rhema this season for the Comets. It was a low-scoring first half as the Comets led 25-17 at the break. ...

"It was ugly, but it was a win," Cottey Comets head coach Dave Ketterman said after the Comets beat Forest Park Lady Highlanders 71-66 Saturday afternoon in their final regular season home game. The win on Saturday gave Cottey a 14-6 overall record and 5-3 against Region 16 teams while Forest Park is 6-30 overall and 2-7 in Region 16 play...

The Cottey Comets lost to Region XVI opponent St. Louis Community College-Meramec Magic 67-75 in a game marked by four ties and three lead changes. The loss drops the Comets season record to 13-6 and 4-3 against Region XVI teams. Comets head coach Dave Ketterman said that they missed a lot of shots at the rim, that just did not go in...

The suspense was over early for the Cottey College Comets in Saturday's game against St. Louis Community College-Florissant Valley as Cottey stormed to a 34-point halftime lead and an easy 79-45 victory. The Comets scored early and often in the first half, tallying the first ten points before Flo Valley could even get on the scoreboard. ...

"It was the Smith and Roberts show," Comets head coach Dave Ketterman said after freshman Jessica Roberts and Brittany Smith combined to score 49 points of Cottey's 80-55 win over the Ozark Christian College Lady Ambassadors Saturday afternoon. "Roberts had 22 points, 6 blocks, 13 rebounds and five assists. She had a real complete game. Brit Smith has stepped up. She is playing well for us," Ketterman said,...

The Cottey College Comets rolled their way to a dominant win over Florissant Valley Monday night. Led by Brittany Smith with 28 points and Liz Wagoner with 15 rebounds, the Comets dashed Florissant Valley 85-48. The Comets put down 7 treys as a team, but only made 2 of 6 free throws in the game...

The Cottey College Comets were in a tough, physical battle with Region XVI foe St. Lous Community College-Meramec on Saturday. The Comets played hard, but unltimately fell to the home team 54-62. "Our players played well on both ends in a very physical game," said head coach Dave Ketterman. "Our players did a great job did a great job of getting to the basket, drawing the contact, but the result was repeated no-calls by the officials."...

Cottey College skated to a win over Forest Park Thursday night. Led by Jessica Roberts with 22 points, the Comets tacked on 6 of 13 from beyond the arc and 6 of 10 free throws in a 70-37 win. Jessica Roberts also led Cottey in rebounds with 18 and as a team, the Comets shot 50 percent from the field and 46 percent from beyond the arc...

The Cottey College Comets managed to stay within striking distance of the Penn Valley Community College Scouts all night Wednesday, but were unable to get enough shots to fall in the last couple of minutes, losing to the Scouts 64-59. This loss against the toughest opponent they have seen so far puts the Comets 6-3 for the season and 0-1 against regional opponents...

After a slow start, the Cottey Comets outscored Rhema Bible College 43-23 in the second half of their game Friday night to beat the Eagles 59-54 in their second meeting of the season raising their record to 6-2 for the season. Cottey handily won their home opener Nov. 2 against Rhema Bible 65-47...

The Cottey College Comets had a tough night on the road as they fell to the junior varsity from MidAmerica Nazarene 67-74. It was a slow start offensively, coupled with too many fouls that led to the Comets ending up in a hole at the break. They were outscored 29-36 in the first 20 minutes. ...

Cottey College used good ball movement and balanced scoring to notch its third consecutive decisive victory to open the season. Sophomore forward Elizabeth Wagoner scored 20 points and handed out five assists as Cottey rolled past visiting Mid America Nazarene University junior varsity 70-51 Tuesday night in the Hinkhouse Center...

Cottey College will host University of St. Mary, Kan., Friday, Nov. 9, at 7 p.m. in the Hinkhouse Center. Lacy Leonard, a two-time first-team National Junior College Athletic Association All-America, will be recognized at halftime of Friday's game. Leonard, from Nevada, now plays for the University of St. Mary varsity squad...

Nevada Daily Mail Dave Ketterman added two new players to his roster at Cottey College recently, signing a pair of guards for the 2007-'08 season. Jessica Roberts, a 5-11 guard from Tulsa Union (Okla.) High School, is someone Ketterman expects to come in and compete for a starting spot as a freshman...

Nevada Daily Mail The Cottey Comets signed their first player of the recruiting season this week, netting Brittany Smith, a 5-9 guard from Hartville, Mo. Smith was a three-year starter at Camdenton before moving to Hartville for her senior season. The Hartville Lady Eagles won the Missouri Class 2 championship this year...