Julie McCabe is the lone Lewiston resident on the Lewiston-Auburn Maples roster heading into the semipro women’s basketball team’s inaugural season. McCabe is a social studies teacher who developed a fondness for Lewiston since moving there to attend Bates College. Russ Dillingham/Sun Journal

LEWISTON — Although she didn’t grow up in Lewiston, Julie McCabe calls the city her home.

Lewiston-Auburn Maples player Julie McCabe. Russ Dillingham/Sun Journal

McCabe is the lone Lewiston resident on the LA Maples, Lewiston-Auburn’s semipro women’s basketball team, which opens its inaugural season July 10 at the Lewiston Armory.

“I love Lewiston. I love calling it my home,” McCabe said. “I can’t imagine living anywhere else.”

McCabe spent time in both Maryland and New York while growing up, then moved to Lewiston to attend Bates College.

“I came here to study at Bates College, and I loved Lewiston, that was a big draw for me,” McCabe said. “I was from Brooklyn before Maryland, and I saw the similarities between the perishes in Lewiston and the perishes that I grew up playing basketball at in Brooklyn.” 

McCabe says that sports — specifically basketball and soccer — helped “grease the admission wheels” for her, but an injury halted her college hoops career before it even started.

“I tore my ACL my senior year of high school,” McCabe said. “So I think during that period I really explored other interests.” 

“I didn’t have any regrets choosing not to play in college,” McCabe added, “it allowed me to explore other interests.”

McCabe, who graduated from Bates 10 years ago, hasn’t played much basketball since her injury.

“I’ve been mostly playing intramural soccer over in Auburn, so I haven’t played basketball competitively since I was 17 years old,” McCabe said.

However, when the opportunity came to play for the LA Maples, McCabe couldn’t pass it up. 

“I felt like I wasn’t ready to stop playing,” McCabe said. “It’s fun to have that competitive part of your personality come out again.” 

MORE THAN JUST A HOOPER 

In between graduating from Bates and joining the Maples, McCabe became a social studies teacher. She has taught in various districts around the area, but she has a special place in her heart for Lewiston. 

Julie McCabe is the lone Lewiston resident on the Lewiston-Auburn Maples roster heading into the semipro women’s basketball team’s inaugural season, which the Maples open July 10 at the Lewiston Armory. Russ Dillingham/Sun Journal

“I love teaching my students about the history of Lewiston,” McCabe said. 

Her husband is also a teacher, spending the last five years in the Lewiston public school system. They have two young children together. 

McCabe’s kids are too young to understand her new line of work, but her husband has been supportive. 

“He’s pumped. He’s very supportive,” McCabe said. “We’ve been scaling back on other things so I can put more time into this, but it’s been a great process so far.”

HUSTLE PLAYER 

Although she has less playing experience than her teammates, McCabe has found a viable role with the Maples. 

“She does a lot of the intangibles. She’ll get deflections, she’ll get rebounds,” Maples coach Jim Seavey said.

“She’s the energizer bunny. She’s just nonstop,” Seavey added. “Her energy level and fitness seem to be up there. Julie is in really good physical shape.”

McCabe, a 5-foot-8 small forward, often will “double up” in drills, meaning she runs them two times more than her teammates.

That work ethic has earned the respect of her teammates and coach.

“Julie is like that go-to hustle player out there,” Maples center Kayla Vangelist said. “Sometimes I think she’s not even in the vicinity of the play and she somehow comes up with the ball, and you’re like, ‘How did she get over there?’”

“What she lacks in experience, she makes up for in effort,” Seavey added. “And every team needs players like that.” 

McCabe has also proven to be a great teammate, which is something she looked forward to when she tried out for the Maples.

“Being a part of the team camaraderie, even if you don’t get a minute in the game, you can still be the loudest and most engaged person on the bench, so I think that was the draw (of playing for the Maples) to me,” McCabe said. 

McCabe’s teammates and coach have noticed her impact off the court, too. 

“She’s positive,” Vangelist said. “That work ethic is there for her, and that makes her a really positive role model on the team.” 

“Very good teammate, gets along with everybody, really hard worker,” added Seavey, describing McCabe. “She’s a really genuine person.”