Mother McAuley’s Harmony Cooper wasn’t fazed at all.
The freshman guard/forward put in some meaningful minutes Monday night against rival Marist in her first foray of playing in that storied rivalry.
Was she a deer in the headlights? Hardly. For a while, she was endearing in the spotlight that comes from playing in the Mighty Macs’ loud gym.
“I was OK with it,” Cooper said of the environment. “I’m used to it playing AAU ball. I’m used to blocking out the noise. I just block out the noise and concentrate on what I have to do,”
She did quite a bit coming off the bench, scoring 13 points and hauling down nine rebounds in a 74-65 nonconference win over the previously unbeaten RedHawks.
Sophomore forward Taji Alexa, also playing in her first varsity game against Marist, led McAuley (6-3) with 18 points, including back-to-back baskets on layups off steals to open the second half. Quinn Arundel scored seven or her 16 points in the fourth quarter. Delia Sullivan added 11.
Olivia Cosme paced Marist (6-1) with 20 points, while Madison Vrdolyak had 11 points and Lily Porter and Grace Harmon each had 10.
For much of the first half, the game was back and forth, but McAuley went on a 14-0 run to take a 33-23 lead and the Mighty Macs never trailed. The 5-foot-7 Cooper came up with six points and three rebounds in that stretch.
Marist eventually tightened things up, but McAuley had a 66-63 lead in the fourth with 1:37 left when Cooper hit two free throws to give the Mighty Macs some breathing room.
“She’s just a tough player,” McAuley coach Curtis Lewis said of Cooper. “She’s a natural point guard and you can trust her with any type of ballhandling situation.
“She’s without a doubt a strong rebounder. She had two double-digit games this year and I believe she is our leading rebounder. She’s a big addition for us this year.”
Cooper said LeBron James is the player she tries to pattern her game after because of his versatility. Her favorite aspect of the game is mixing it up inside and grabbing rebounds.
“I am more of a hustle person,” Cooper said. “I love going for rebounds and my motto is ‘ball over body.’ I always try to get the ball.”
Alexa admires that trait.
“She’s very aggressive,” Alexa said of Cooper. “That’s what we need. We need a hustle player, and she is a hustle player all the time. Always. There is no stopping.”
The Mighty Macs have played a daunting schedule early in the season, but a tight 54-49 loss to Fremd in the second game of the season showed they can hang with an elite team. Fremd won the Class 4A state title last winter and opened this season 8-1 heading into this week’s play.
Lewis said playing strong competition helped his young team withstand some of Marist’s early runs Monday night.
Alexa, who was on the varsity last season but did not play against Marist, had some fun this time against the RedHawks.
“It was very exciting playing for the school and playing for the crowd,” she said. “We want to make everyone proud. You want to play well for your teammates.”
Cooper, meanwhile, made a name for herself before playing for McAuley. She received recognition for her play in various exposure camps and has played across the country with Example Academy.
Cooper also plays volleyball for the Mighty Macs, but basketball remains her first love.
“I love the intensity of the game,” she said. “Anything can happen. You have to put all of the pieces together to have a good game.”
Jeff Vorva is a freelance reporter for the Daily Southtown.
