When Waubonsie Valley’s Maya Cobb lost her starting spot earlier this season, she didn’t have time to get down on herself.
The sophomore guard instead switched her focus so she could find a way to still make a difference.
“I was starting, and once that got taken, I turned my mindset to where I was like, ‘If I get in, I have to do whatever I can to help the team,'” Cobb said. “I turned into a team player.
“I worked on things that needed to be worked on for us to be a better team, to have the record that we have. I just come in and try to do as much as I can for the team.”
Cobb continued that trend Tuesday night in a 65-50 nonconference win over Aurora Central Catholic. She scored eight points as the Warriors’ top reserve, adding a pair of rebounds and two steals.
Danyella Mporokoso led all scorers with 26 points for Waubonsie (22-2). Hannah Laub scored 16 points and Lily Newton grabbed 11 rebounds.
Riley Cwinski paced ACC (19-6) with 21 points. Sofia Corral and Anna-Marie Godina each had 12.
Every time Cobb’s number was called Tuesday, she provided the energy that Waubonsie coach Brett Love has come to expect.
“She’s a basketball player,” Love said. “She does a great job of anticipating and making good reads and jumping passes — things like that. She’s a knockdown shooter, and she just makes big plays.
“She’s a player who constantly impacts the game.”
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Love made the decision to replace Cobb in the starting lineup with Maya Pereda for defensive purposes. He knows that can be a hard message to receive, but he’s happy with how Cobb has responded.
“She took it well and she’s been working hard at it, and she earned her spot,” Love said. “Her intensity and shooting and basketball IQ help.”
Cobb hit back-to-back layups in the second quarter to give the Warriors a 22-10 lead. She darted in to put back a rebound and had a layup off a steal in the fourth as the lead swelled to 61-42.
Aurora Central Catholic knew it was facing a stiff challenge in Waubonsie, but coach LeVada Smith is happy with how his team acquitted itself.
A 3-pointer from Godina late in the fourth quarter cut the lead to 61-50, but the Chargers couldn’t get any closer as Waubonsie pulled away.
“I’m proud of my group,” Smith said. “I told them it’s probably going to be the best team we play all year. If you trust the game plan, you can beat anybody.”
Mporokoso, meanwhile, is only a sophomore, but she surpassed 1,000 career points in the fourth quarter and was recognized for the feat after the game.
“She has a long way to go and more milestones to pass,” Love said. “But she’s worked hard so we definitely wanted to give that due for her.”
Cobb knows stars like Mporokoso and Laub fuel a ton of the team’s success. Twenty-two win teams don’t get to this point without contributions from the entire roster, however.
“It’s a team thing,” Cobb said. “We are the team that we are because we all know how to work together. We all know how to play off each other’s energy. It’s been so fun.”
Love doesn’t take his depth for granted,
“It’s huge to have the five that we have that start, and it’s huge to have that one or two that come off the bench to give us depth,” Love said. “We don’t lose anything when Maya comes in the game. We only gain.”
Paul Johnson is a freelance reporter for The Beacon-News.
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