SAN ANTONIO — Lorela Cubaj has an alter ego.
She is laid back. She cherishes every moment to spend with her teammates. Cubaj likes to relax. She doesn’t get mad too often. Her tenderness has served the senior well in her endeavor overseas from Italy.
That is, until she’s on the basketball court. She’s a different Cubaj, who is fierce, emotional and intense. Her competitiveness always is showing when No. 13 wears the jersey. All of it came to life at the end of the first quarter in Georgia Tech’s 73-56 win over West Virginia to advance to the Sweet 16.
Kierra Fletcher tried a 3-pointer with three seconds left. She missed. Then Lotta-Maj Lahtinen tried for a layup before the buzzer. She missed. That time Cubaj stood in rebounding position, then she found the ball and threw it up on a prayer. The scoop fell through.
“I wasn’t really expecting it,” said Cubaj, who is from Terni, Italy. “But it turned out as a cool play.”
That night, she saw it among ESPN “SportsCenter” top 10 plays of the day, ranked ninth.
“I didn’t think it was that cool when I made it,” Cubaj said, who stoically walked to the bench after the play. “I saw it again and thought, ‘OK, maybe it was.’”
Meet Lorela Cubaj. She’s the do-it-all player for Tech who never wants to give praise to herself. The European product who has been one of the Yellow Jackets’ brightest gems. A player who not many have known about, well, until her eruption in the NCAA Tournament. She’ll get to match up with South Carolina’s popular star Aliyah Boston on Sunday in the Sweet 16 (1 p.m., ABC).
She has averaged 17.5 points per game and posted consecutive double-doubles in contests over Stephen F. Austin and West Virginia. The 6-foot-4 senior has maintained similar production through the entire season. Her head coach, Nell Fortner, has known Cubaj to produce at the same level since she took the job at Tech two years ago.
“Everything I do is in order to make everyone else better,” Cubaj said. “I’m going to give 100% to whatever makes us better. I don’t want to leave the court thinking I didn’t give my all.”
At 6-foot-4, Cubaj averages a double-double at 12.4 points and 11.7 rebounds per game, which is a stat line to match up with any of the premier frontcourt players remaining in the tournament. She turned some heads by erupting in the second half and willing Tech to the comeback over Stephen F. Austin.
Cubaj was chosen the College Women’s Player of the Year in Georgia by the Atlanta Tipoff Club. She also was awarded the ACC Co-Defensive Player of the Year for her regular-season body of work.
“I know it sounds cliché, but individual recognition comes from a team perspective,” Cubaj said. “I wouldn’t have had the recognition without them. It makes me feel good about myself and increases my greatest confidence. I’m starting not to make it a pressure thing because everything will come into place.”
Entering the tournament, Cubaj wanted to bring another level of leadership. Tech gives heavy minutes to freshmen Anaya Boyd, Eliyah Love and Loyal McQueen. None of the Jackets have been to the NCAA Tournament, but at least Cubaj had some experience in bigger games. She wanted to show that experience by stepping out of her comfort zone with on-court play. She has proved to be a physical post player who can score at all three levels.
Cubaj frequently deflects anything about her own game to her teammates, but she’s quickly building her own stock. ESPN projects Cubaj as a first-round WNBA draft selection (12th overall to the Las Vegas Aces). In a previous version of the mock draft, Cubaj wasn’t listed in any of the three rounds.
“I like the way she has played in the postseason,” ESPN’s Mechelle Voepel, who made the mock draft, said to the AJC. “She’s big and strong, but still has a shooting touch. Her emotion stands out as a positive.”
Cubaj’s play not only has allowed Tech to reach the regional semifinals for the first time since 2012, but also to contend against the nation’s top teams. Cubaj posted strong performances in close losses to Georgia and N.C. State (twice). Tech is close to getting over the hump, and Cubaj’s qualities give it a chance against the Gamecocks.
Fortner recognized Cubaj as Tech’s reliable rebounder and stifling defender, which “anchors” the Jackets on offense and defense.
“Lo is a pro. She comes in with a certain type of emotion everyday, and we feed off of it,” Fletcher said. “She drives our energy as an emotional player. She leads in that way, and it makes us a very hard team to beat.”
Like her acrobatic scoop shot that made it on “SportsCenter,” Cubaj is stepping into the spotlight. She won’t take credit for it, but it represents the senior’s influence as the captain of Tech’s ship.
If her tournament run leads to being drafted, she might see it as a cool moment on second glance, too.
“You know what?” Fortner said. “She isn’t flying under the radar anymore. We’re well aware of that.”
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