Jeff DiVeronica

@RocDevo

Annese was named one of four team captains for Geneseo this season even though she was a backup

Annese scored a career-high five points in a career-best 13 minutes in Saturday's win

An education and Spanish major, Annese wanted to teach English as a second language

In three years of college basketball, Kelsey Annese usually played only four or five minutes a game. That was it. She was a role player for the State University College at Geneseo and she knew that.

But for this season, her final one, ninth-year coach Scott Hemer made Annese a team captain, a reward for the example she set and the way the 2012 Webster Schroeder High School graduate encouraged teammates no matter how many minutes she played.

"She was an extremely hard-working, dedicated and a sweet girl that could put a smile on anyone's face," teammate Kara Houppert said. "She always did that for me."

Annese can't anymore.

The 21-year-old was one of three people found dead a half block away from the Geneseo campus in Annese's apartment. Few details, other the names of two 24-year-old men who were also found dead there — Matthew Hutchinson of North Vancouver, British Columbia and Colin Kingston of Geneseo — have been revealed by police. A 2 p.m. news conference on Monday should detail more.

"She really was the perfect role model," senior point guard Dana Cohan said about Annese.

Webster Schroeder grad among 3 dead in Geneseo

Cohan had to stop and collect herself. Softly, she cried for a few seconds. She apologized, then continued.

"She was just the sweetest person. I don't think anyone ever had a bad thing to say about her," Cohan said.

Like Annese, Hutchinson was an athlete, a senior defenseman on the Geneseo hockey team. Kingston was a former student at the college. He was a Livingston County track and field all-star for Geneseo High in 2008.

Hutchinson and Annese both played games on Saturday. Hutchinson assisted on the final goal in a 6-2 home win over Franklin Pierce University, just his eighth career assist. Annese had a career game, too. Foul trouble forced her onto the floor and in 13 minutes, matching her career high, she scored a career-best five points in a 63-52 afternoon win at Buffalo State, the 300th in Hemer's coaching career.

"It was the best I've ever seen her play. I've never seen her so happy after (a game)," Cohan said. "We were all so happy for her. It's just weird how things happen."

Cohan went to Greece Athena and Houppert to Webster Thomas. Those two and Annese were the only local high school players for Geneseo. The Knights made it to the NCAA Tournament's Division III Sweet 16 last March, a run that Annese listed as her "favorite athletic-related moment."

She was a two-time captain and MVP as a senior at Schroeder.

"Special girl," Schroeder coach Andrew Welker said Sunday. "She always worked hard and played the game the way you'd want someone to play it. I think she lived her life that way, too."

The college lists her parents, Krista and Ron, as Geneseo graduates. Ron played basketball there, too. Kelsey didn't play her freshman year in college. But after a season away, she realized she missed the game and tried out, Houppert said.

A GoFundMe page has been set up for Ron Annese to help pay for a funeral.

They grew up mostly playing against each other in the same youth games in town. "We'd always guard each other," said Houppert, who transferred to Geneseo after a season at Slippery Rock University. "It was a fun rivalry.

"I was really excited when I came to Geneseo because I was finally going to be on her team for once."

Annese was somewhat quiet at Schroeder, Welker said. As she matured, she became more vocal.

"She was one of the loudest players on the bench, in practice," Cohan said. "She always knew the right things to say. She was always so supportive, so positive."

Some players and their families gathered at a Geneseo restaurant on Sunday night to grieve together, Cohan said.

"She really wanted to make a difference with teaching," said Houppert, a fellow education major who took a lot of classes with Annese.

Annese also majored in Spanish and wanted to teach English as a second language, Houppert said. She was a psychology minor.

"You're just shocked and kind of in disbelief," Welker said about his initial reaction of Annese's death. "You hope it's a bad dream and you'll wake up and find out that it isn't true."

Added Houppert: "Everyone loved Kelsey. She really will be missed by a lot of people."

JDIVERON@Gannett.com