Saginaw Valley State University Athletics will be releasing a series of student-athlete spotlights, which will feature some of our Cardinal senior student-athletes from the 2019-20 academic year. Stay tuned to www.svsucardinals.com to get to know our SVSU seniors a bit more.
Next up in our series is Women's Basketball student-athlete Mariah Cook. Mariah was a four year player for the Cardinals and is a native of Elkton, Michigan. She played in 93 career games at the guard position. Cook had a standout season in 2019-20 in which she started 15 games, posting career-highs in points, rebounds, assists, steals, minutes, field goal percentage and free throw percentage. She scored in double figures six times, including her career-high of 19 points twice, and helped lead the team back to the GLIAC Tournament. Mariah was a member of the 2016-17 team that advanced to the NCAA Division II Round of 32 and claimed the GLIAC North Division championship.
Cook's favorite memory while competing for Saginaw Valley is all of the time spent with teammates on and off the court, and the relationships she built with coaches, faculty and staff over the last four years.
Her favorite spot on campus is the James E. O'Neill Jr. Arena. Mariah is an athletic training major who is set to graduate in May 2020. She will be moving to Fargo, North Dakota to be a strength and conditioning intern at North Dakota State University. After that, she plans to pursue a master's degree and be a strength and conditioning graduate assistant.
Mariah enjoys playing games of any kind with friends outside of basketball, stating that she is a kid at heart.
During her high school days, Cook was one of just two athletes in state history to score over 1,000 points in basketball and net over 100 goals in soccer.
Mariah Cook on her experience at SVSU...
"Having the opportunity to be a part of SVSU Athletics has been one of the biggest blessings. I am thankful for all the amazing people I've met along the way. Saginaw Valley will forever hold a special place in my heart."
SVSU Women's Basketball Head Coach Jenny Pruett on Mariah Cook...
"Mariah is a walking testament that hard work does pay off. She came in as a walk-on her freshman year and hardly played throughout her next three years. With a new head coach and a different culture, Mariah entered the starting lineup because she was ready. She knew she could be impactful on the court and proved it day in and day out. She never took a day off, and when she is passionate about something, she never will. Her work ethic is contagious, and her personality is infectious."
