A standard elementary school basketball team practices in a middle school gym with one not-so-standard team member. With full concentration, the not-so-standard team member lines up on the baseline. The whistle blows and she takes the first step, dribbling the ball between her legs, but by the time she has gotten to the half court line many of her teammates are finished with the drill.

She continues with the drill until she passes the far baseline, minutes after the rest of the team. The difference between the not-so-standard team member and the rest of the team is that she is only a second grader. The rest of her team is made up of fifth graders. Determined, junior Mariah Cooks refused to fail at completing the drill, despite being far behind her teammates. Cooks, who is now a player for WSU, was only eight years old at the time.

“It literally took me 10 minutes to get across the court,” Cooks said. “And I was so upset at myself. I went home and kept doing it. I kept working on it and a week later I could do it in two minutes instead of 10.”

The leadership she provides the team with seems far beyond her years, and although that drive and leadership capacity is part of who Cooks is, her work ethic has always pushed her far beyond her competition.

Cooks grew up with parents who had been married since high school, as well as two siblings — an older sister and younger brother. As a young child, Cooks was constantly competing at the same level and on the same team as her sister, who is three years older. Sports were a staple in the Cooks house; Cooks’ father had played football at Fresno State University, and her uncle and cousin also played college football. Cooks grew up playing soccer, volleyball and basketball and late in high school turned her focus to basketball.

“I didn’t really start taking basketball seriously until I was about a sophomore in high school,” Cooks said. “That’s when I started traveling to LA, three hours away two or three times a week for practices.”

Between the long drives to and from practices, Cooks studied hard and became as involved in her school as she could. A strong relationship with her parents helped give her the support she needed to be able to excel on and off the court from a young age.

“Mariah has always been a driven child both academically and physically. She possessed the quality of a leader from a small age in elementary school. She always respected everyone and was nice to everyone and I think that is why people respect her so much,” said Stephanie Cooks, Cooks’ mother. “She was involved in ASB from fourth Grade, was the president of her elementary and junior high school. She continued with her ASB through her high school career. She always worked a little harder in everything and when she was on the court, field or classroom she always took a leadership role. “

It was that spirit and leadership ability that helped her transition from high school basketball star to college basketball team captain her second year on the team. She has been a staple to the WSU women’s basketball team since the coaching staff succeeded in bringing Cooks from her home in Santa Monica, California, out to the Palouse.

“I knew right away this is where I need to be,” Cooks said. “The community, the atmosphere, the people, my coaches, my team, everything was perfect.”

In her two seasons as a Cougar, she has played in every game and was named a captain again for this upcoming season.

“As a team, we want to be Pac-12 champs and we want to go to the NCAA tournament. We don’t just want to make it there, we want to compete,” Cooks said. “I feel like we have worked our butts off and we will get there.”

Playing on a team with seven freshmen makes the leadership role especially daunting, but failure is not in Cooks vocabulary. Despite discovering that she needed her knee scoped and would be out for six to eight weeks, after this past summer filled with hard work to get into top shape, Cooks did the only thing she knew. She looked at the positives and finished the rehab so she could get back on the court.

“I took that hard … I feel like I have come back a better player. My handles are better because that was all I could work on,” Cooks said. “It was a blessing in disguise; it just really relit that fire for me. I was able to take a step back and re-evaluate my life … it brought me closer God; it was just a really big step in my life I believe.”

If there is any need to attribute Cooks’ extraordinary ability to compete, lead and succeed to a greater power, then go ahead because Cooks attributes her success to just that.

“I wouldn’t be who I am without my faith. Growing up, for some reason, I don’t know why, I have always had such a special relationship with God … Without him I wouldn’t be here,” Cooks said. “I wouldn’t be getting good grades. I wouldn’t be the person that I am today without my faith and without the love that I know God has for me and the love I have for him.”

Those around her recognize her faith and spirit as well as hard work, and gravitate toward her. Her coach, June Daugherty recognizes her ability as a player to bring grit to the team.

“She’s tough,” Daugherty said in an interview with cougfan.com. “She’s a very strong individual, and she’s fearless.”

It is easy for one to be fearless with the spirit and heart of Cooks.

“I want people to remember my spirit. I want people to, when they think of Mariah Cooks to think ‘I love her,” Cooks said. “‘I loved watching her play, I loved what she brought to the team’. The spark, the passion, that’s what I really want to leave at WSU.”

Cooks’ spirit is undeniable in the way she talks about her team and the role she has taken on as a leader for her team on and off the court. With all the scandals surrounding sports today, an athlete like Cooks has become a rare breed. Few college athletes are involved in anything outside of their sport; Cooks is a member of the National Honor Society and the Black Women’s Caucus. Few college athletes maintain a high grade point average, however Cooks has maintained a 3.4 and hopes to raise it further. Her ability to balance everything stems from her view of the pressure that comes with succeeding at so many roles.

“Pressure is a privilege for me. I feel like I do have a lot of pressure on me this year, but I am blessed to be able to have that pressure,” Cooks said. “Just knowing that my team needs me … that pushes me to run harder, be smarter with the basketball, to score, to play defense, all of that drives me.”

Looking back at the little girl in the gym that wouldn’t stop until she got it right, it is easy to see why Cooks has set such high goals. She has never met anything she couldn’t overcome with hard work and a positive attitude.

“I would like to play professionally for a couple years after I graduate and then go to law school and hopefully one day become a judge,” Cooks said. “I want to focus on environmental science.”

As for this season, WSU women’s basketball stands tall behind their fearless leader, Mariah Cooks, and how could they fall when “quit” and “failure” are removed from their vocabulary.