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Former Blue Devil, Missy West, Named Head Coach At Hartwick College
ONEONTA, N.Y. - Hartwick College announced the hiring of Missy West, who was a four-year letterwinner at Duke from 1998-2001, as its head women's basketball coach, on Friday.
West, a native of Malone, N.Y., joins the department following a four-year stint at SUNY Canton, where she helped revive a dormant program and turned it into a league title holder. Over the past three years, the Kangaroos registered a 53-23 record, among which includes a 12-8 mark in the 2007-08 campaign and a NAIA Sunrise Conference regular season title. Prior to her arrival, the Kangaroos had posted back-to-back no win seasons. After recording a 3-20 record in her first year as an assistant under Bruce Tallon in 2004-05, SUNY Canton recorded its first winning season since 1997-98 with an 18-10 record and a Region III quarterfinal berth. The following season, the Kangaroos captured the regular-season Sunrise title with a 23-5 record and advanced to the Region III title game. West was elevated to co-head coach for the 2007-08 year.
"We are thrilled to have Missy join the Hartwick athletic department family," said Hartwick Director of Athletics Debbie Warren. "She will bring a wealth of basketball knowledge both as a player and as a coach to this program. Missy has already played a major part in helping to turn the fortunes of SUNY Canton's women's basketball program around in a short period of time. I feel she has the drive and determination to make our program here at Hartwick very competitive in the Empire 8 Conference in due time."
West was a three-sport standout at Malone Central High School, where she lettered four years in soccer, basketball and softball. She was recognized as Miss New York on the hardwood in 1996 after averaging 28 points per game her senior season. West, a four-time league MVP, garnered honorable mention All-American honors by USA Today her junior and senior seasons. She was named New York State's three-sport Female Athlete of the Year and also became the first female to have her jersey retired at Malone Central in three sports.
Following her prep career, she attended Duke University, where she received her bachelor's degree in sociology with minors in history and biological anthropology in 2001. As a Blue Devil, she averaged 4.7 points, 1.5 rebounds, posted 75 assists and 65 steals in her 96-game career. With West on the roster, Duke won two Atlantic Coast Conference (ACC) tournament titles and three regular season league titles with a combined 130-36 record. She was on Duke's 1999 title game squad, as well as teams that advanced to the "Elite Eight" in 1998 and "Sweet 16" in 2000. As a junior, she was recognized as a second team all-ACC tournament honoree after posting 42 points in three games. Entering Duke, she was chosen as the pre-season ACC rookie of the year, the first player in the program's history to receive that type of recognition.
After graduation, West embarked on a three-year professional playing career in Germany - one year with Wolfenbuettel and two years with Gottingen. In her first season with Gottingen, she tallied 25 points, 7 rebounds per game and to help lead the squad to an undefeated season and a second division German title. The following season, she was named a team captain and posted 17 points, 7 rebounds and 4 steals per game.
"It is a true honor to become part of the Hartwick staff and community," said West. "I'm extremely enthusiastic and excited to begin working with these talented athletes. I look forward to bringing in new experiences, new challenges, and a positive future to the Hartwick women's basketball program."
West, who added an associate's degree from SUNY Canton's physical therapy assistant program in 2007, has also worked as a physical therapy assistant at the Canton United Helpers Nursing Home and at Northern Physical Therapy in Ogdensburg.
She becomes the 11th women's basketball head coach at Hartwick and takes over a program that posted a 7-18 record this past season, 5-11 in Empire 8 Conference action in the 2007-08 season.
Release provided by Hartwick College
