Cullinane measures up against competition

Molly Cullinane can get a little defensive when asked how tall she is.

The Oak Park and River Forest High School point guard is listed at 5-foot-3, which appears to be a stretch.

“I don’t know,” Cullinane said. “Maybe 5-2?”

Whatever her height, Cullinane doesn’t let it affect her play. The diminutive junior consistently hits above her weight and has become a key player on a team that has exceeded expectations and is making a surprise run at a conference title.

“I don’t let it faze me,” Cullinane said. “I know I can get blocked but I just keep going.”

What Cullinane lacks in size she makes up for with grit and determination. She and sophomore guard Maeve Nelson can routinely be seen diving on the floor for loose balls, and Cullinane isn’t afraid of bigger players.

In that respect, Cullinane is setting an example for younger girls who may not have the height of a typical basketball player

“(Be) small but mighty,” Cullinane advises. “(The key) is working hard and not having any fear, not thinking they’re going to block you. Just go 110 percent.”

Cullinane did just that last month in a game against Downers Grove North, Cullinane contributed eight points and even found herself guarding the Trojans’ 6-2 Penn State recruit Jaida Green on several key possessions. The Huskies lost 49-45 in overtime but it wasn’t for lack of effort.

“She relishes situations like this,” OPRF coach JP Coughlin said after that game. “At halftime we’re up four points and we didn’t play really well. And her line to the team is ‘Pretend we’re down 20, we have to play with urgency.’

“With a kid like Molly, there’s not a lot of coaching I have to do with her. She just kind of leads and does her thing and makes me look good.”

Cullinane’s feistiness has endeared her to her teammates.

“Everybody underestimates her because she’s so small, but she’s come such a long way as a player,” Nelson said. “I’ve seen her work so hard. I feel like she’s a little ball of fire.”

That ball of fire isn’t going to burn out any time soon. She is driven to succeed, partly by the perception that she’s too short and partly by her natural competitiveness.

“The best thing about Molly is she constantly has a chip on her shoulder that she wants to prove herself,” Coughlin said. “She plays 30 minutes a game for us and (recently) she was like, ‘if so-and-so comes out for the team, am I on the bench next year? I’m going to have to prove (myself) to you.’

“I’m like, ‘really, I play you 30 minutes a game, what are you trying to prove at this point?’ That is her mentality; that she can always do better.”

To be sure, Cullinane has plenty of room for improvement. While she is second on the team in steals (2.7 per game) and assists (2.4) and third in scoring  (6.6 points) in her first year as a starter, she knows she has to get better if she’s to realize her dream of playing in college.

“I want to (play in college),” Cullinane said. “That’s what I’m pushing for.

“(I need to improve) my shot. I’ve got to work on getting it off quicker rather than driving the majority of the time. I like to drive a lot but I can’t do that if I want to keep playing.”

Cullinane is a capable ballhandler who rarely turns it over and is an unselfish, pass-first guard. But she thinks defense is the strongest part of her game.

“I’m not a good defender but I can keep up if I stay low, work hard and make sure they don’t score,” Cullinane said. “When we do the (trap) me and Maeve get a lot of steals.”

Like all players, Cullinane wants to play as much as possible, but she never wanted to steal time from a more deserving player.

“She spent the summer before last year begging me to play varsity but I wouldn’t let her,” Coughlin said. “Then I let her and I told her, ‘here’s the thing about playing time in your first year.’

“She goes, ‘stop, I just want to practice and if there’s any playing time I’ll have to earn it.’ She’s the best.”

Nelson agreed.

“I’m so proud of her,” Nelson said. “She’s really become one of the key players on our team. I can’t think of anybody else I’d rather have than Molly as our point guard.”

Despite having less overall talent than last year, the Huskies (12-12) are in first place in the West Suburban Conference Silver Division. With two league games to go, they are 8-2 and control their own destiny as they seek to win the league title for just the third time in the past 25 years.

“It’s fun that we all work together,” Cullinane said. “Last year we had more stars but this year we’re all pretty good, so practice is really good. We all get a lot done because we all push each other.”