Dexter native Erika Cobb takes over Kennett girls basketball program

KENNETT – Dexter graduate and former North Pemiscot coach Erika Cobb will fulfill a personal goal in taking over the Kennett High School girls basketball team as head coach this year.

“I'm super excited to be here in Kennett, and I'm really excited to work with the girls,” Cobb said. “All of the girls have been eager to learn, and they're all working hard. As long as they carry it into the season, I really believe we'll be competitive.”

Kennett improved from a 6-18 record in 2022 to an 18-10 record last season under coach Aaron New. New, also head coach of the KHS baseball team, has taken a step back but will remain on the girls basketball coaching staff as an assistant this season.

“Coach New has done a great job with the program,” Cobb said. “He's instilled a hard work ethic, so really I'll be building off of what he's already planted.”

Cobb explained that her hope is that girls will become invested in the program and build more continued success down the line. And much of that, she believes, comes down to what New has already augmented.

“I really want to focus on instilling discipline and hard work that will allow the girls to have success on and off the basketball court,” Cobb explained. “And I want them to have confidence in their discipline and hard work so that they can succeed in whatever they do.”

Cobb, a 2014 Dexter High School alumna, was a member of the remarkably successful Bearcat crew who won four-straight district championships and took back-to-back trips to the Final Four in her junior and senior years. Along with three other senior teammates who had played side by side since they were in elementary school, Cobb scored 1,000 career points before leaving Dexter.

She was awarded a full ride scholarship to play basketball at Three Rivers College, but a heart condition ultimately ended her playing career after competing for one season.

She remained on the Lady Raiders team throughout her college career helping her teammates in other ways, and Cobb always wanted to coach after all, so that's exactly what she pursued after receiving a teaching degree.

After college, she went on to teach first grade and physical education at North Pemiscot in Wardell. Cobb also served as assistant coach of the boys basketball team in 2019. She was a Mustang for five years, all the while living and commuting from Kennett.

Around a year ago, she started a third and fourth grade AAU travel basketball team in Kennett to build up the fundamentals of future players – and to get a foot in the door with the Indians.

“I know that running this program, it all starts at building the roots,” Cobb said.

This week, Cobb and several girls basketball players are hosting the Kennett Lady Indians Summer Basketball Camp, an all-girls youth skills course.

While she helps build up the younger generation, all but three players on the high school roster will be returning this year. While the three now-graduates – Sophie Boone, Taleigh Harrell and Lani Heeb – will be missed, Kennett's upcoming, young team will be ready to pick up where they left off.

“We'll be kind of young, but it'll be good,” Cobb said. “They've been showing up for open gyms and working hard, and that's all you can really ask. Of course winning games is the ultimate thing, but we want to build character and for them to be successful on and off the court.”