SENECA, Mo. — Aliya Grotjohn has been an essential piece of the Seneca basketball team for the past four years. Now, she’s set to take her talents to a new squad.

Grotjohn signed to continue her basketball career with Cottey College on Thursday, a move that keeps her in the game, but also close to home. She’s the first player under girls head coach Drew Schulte to move to the next level, which is all the more impressive when you consider that Grotjohn has only been playing basketball since the seventh grade. It was sheer hard work and dedication that earned her the right to be a Comet, and she feels she’ll fit right into the program.

Grotjohn says, “I picked Cottey for the coaches because they’re really nice, and I think it’ll just be a good fit for me. They have a really good school program there.”

Schulte says, “For her to be at the level where she’s at right now, as far as working hard, she’s played AAU, she plays over the summer, she spends extra time before practice, after practice. The small things that she did makes her a good player.”