Cacurak eager to take over at alma mater
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Abby Cacurak graduated from Mapletown Area Junior/Senior High School in 2019.
For some, including herself, it seems like she never left alma mater, and that’s because she hasn’t.
Born Abby Antill, the Lady Maples’ new head coach has been on staff as an assistant for the past six years after finishing her playing career.
Cacurak will be assisted by Gina Perry and Brittany Vogel.
“My husband also went to Mapletown, so the only difference from high school is that I changed my last name to his when we got married,” Cacurak said. “We made the playoffs twice when I played here, and the goal this year is to get back there after not qualifying last season.”
Mapletown has 15 players on the roster, which is a solid number for the Class A school.
“It is nice because we have a bench and can actually field a JV team this year,” Cacurak said. “We can exchange people in and out, and I can give them valuable minutes.”
In the early practices and scrimmages, Cacurak believes defense will be a positive for her team, but the offense is a work in progress. She is pleased with the camaraderie her squad has displayed early on.
“The girls are meshing really well and putting in a lot of work,” Cacurak said. “We are excited about our defense, but we need to work on our offense, especially when it comes to taking shots. We want them to shoot, and not be afraid of taking a shot.
“Defense is definitely key, but you still need to score to win. We even put them on the shot clock in practice so they could understand how long their possessions are, and work on putting the ball up when you have a quality look.”
Cacurak is counting on guards McKenna Lotspech (senior) and Helena Cumpston (junior) to key the offense, while senior Emma Zalar is a shutdown defender.
Ninth graders Bella Greenwood (5-9 forward), Willow Rudman (5-3 guard) and Lainey Taylor (5-1 guard) have been playing above their age in the early part of the season.
Greenwood, who is the tallest player on the Lady Maples’ roster at 5-9, will provide an interior presence on offense and defense, while Rudman should generate scoring at guard. Cucurak refers to Taylor as a defensive specialist.
Mapletown returns to Section 2 (1A) with Avella, Bishop Canevin, Clairton, Geibel Catholic, Monessen, Serra Catholic and West Greene.
The Lady Bears advanced to the WPIAL Class A title game last year, but lost Iyanna Wade to graduation. Wade led the district in scoring three straight seasons, and is now playing at Slippery Rock.
Cacurak predicts the Lady Gators to be a threat after finishing fourth in the WPIAL and qualifying for the state tournament last season.
Geibel, who won the section last year, has its all-time leading scorer in Emma Larkin back for her senior season before she continues her playing career while attending Division II Belmont Abbey College. The Lady Gators also have an inside presence in sophomore Mallory Clemmer and Janiah Darnell does the dirty work inside.
“I would say Geibel and Serra Catholic will be our biggest competitors, but you can’t overlook West Greene,” Cacurak said. “We only lost to them by seven in our second game last year, so that is one we are looking forward to.
“When it comes to Geibel, it pretty much all starts and ends with Emma. We have tried almost everything to stop Emma, but she is a different type of player. We will just do the best we can in those games and hope she has an off-night.”