Kewpie star shines off court, too

For Megan McCabe, sports has always been about being a team player.

The humble Hickman senior, a standout in basketball and soccer, has never worried about how many points or goals she scored. She just wants her team to win.

“Coach (Tonya) Mirts always used the metaphor that the fist is stronger than the fingers, and you can apply that to the core,” McCabe said. “It’s basically saying, ‘Come together as a team, be individuals; it’s your choice.’ My choice would be to choose the stronger of the two.”

McCabe’s dedication to her team and her grades (a 3.94 GPA) has earned her Academic All-State recipient honors for the 2004-2005 basketball season.

“I don’t really like to flaunt around my recognition,” McCabe said. “To me, it’s more important for team success than individual success. (Being Academic All-State) is very exciting, but that’s just how I am.”

To qualify, athletes must be a senior, have started 90 percent of the games or played in 75 percent of the total quarters, have outstanding moral character, a GPA higher than 3.25 and either a 27 on the ACT, 1210 on the SAT or a PSAT score of 185.

McCabe was the lone senior on the Kewpie basketball team last season, but her preparation to take command of Hickman’s young team came her junior season.

In the 2003-2004 season, the Kewpies reached the Class 5 championship game against St. Joseph’s Academy, which helped McCabe become a student on the court as well.

“I learned so much from those girls,” McCabe said. “They really taught me how to be able to mesh as a team and play as a team and not individuals. They taught me a bunch about leadership.”

Going into the season, McCabe knew that girls would be looking up to her, and that she would have to be a leader on and off the court.

The Kewpies’ battled through a treacherous schedule and lost in the district semifinals to Rock Bridge, ending McCabe’s high-school basketball career.

“It’s a feeling that I can’t describe,” McCabe said of when they lost to Rock Bridge. “It was really rough on me. It’s a real empty feeling in my stomach, not just because we lost, but at that point it hit me that I’m never going to play with these girls again.

“I was living in a dream world at that point. I was like ‘Is this really happening?’ I don’t think it hit me until the next day when I read it in the papers. I was like, ‘Wow. It’s really over.’”

McCabe will further her basketball career at Maryville University in St. Louis this fall.

“We knew that we were getting a gem of a kid,” said Chris Ellis, the women’s basketball coach at Maryville. “She’s coming from a great program, and we were very excited that she was interested. She does everything well, and her best years are ahead.

“She already has what it takes to win and the work ethic on the court and in the classroom.”

McCabe plans on majoring in pre-medicine and is considering both radiology and orthopedic surgery.

“For me, it’s kind of a sense of giving back because so many other people have treated me and helped me become the athlete that I am. I figure that I can give back to others.”

Even though McCabe loved Hickman, she said that she’s ready to take the next step.

“I’m excited about next year,” McCabe said. “I’ll have another great bunch of girls to be playing with and just have a whole bunch of new memories.”

But McCabe said she will never forget her days at Hickman and the lessons that she learned with sports and school.

“I kind of play life as a game,” McCabe said. “It’s a challenge to me. If it’s a challenge, I’m going to take it. That’s just my competitive edge. I like to take challenges, and if I struggle in the classroom, I’m going work that much harder. On the soccer field or on the basketball court, it’s the same way. If someone brings a challenge to me, let’s go.”