Just desserts? Round Lake’s Aniyah Moody, who credits cooking for her patience, enjoys a sweet season after a long wait.

Aniyah Moody is really cooking for Round Lake these days.

In what’s looking like her first full season of high school basketball, the 5-foot-10 senior forward is playing her best yet, and she credits a hobby, at least in part, for her success.

“Cooking has helped me develop my patience, like for free throws,” Moody said. “I take my time, and everything comes naturally. I like to be quick on the court, and sometimes that gets me a foul and causes something to not go right — or my head blows up. I’ve learned to control my anger and emotions.”

The emergence of Moody, who particularly enjoys making desserts, has been a treat for the Panthers (13-10). They’ve won four straight, including a 65-60 victory against Lake Forest Academy on Saturday. Moody had 20 points and 21 rebounds in that game.

“I’ve been working hard on everything since my first game, and my stats have been going up and up,” she said. “I was just focused on getting back in a groove. I had been having some off games. I needed to focus and keep my head on.”

Another factor for Moody, who is averaging a double-double of 13.0 points and 11.7 rebounds, is getting a chance to play consistently.

As a freshman, she said, she played a handful of games at the lower levels at Libertyville before transferring to Lockport in the middle of the season. She sat out her sophomore season at Lockport due to the coronavirus pandemic and then transferred to Round Lake in the middle of her junior season. Given her late arrival to a talented team that won 28 games, Moody averaged just 2.0 points and 5.0 rebounds in 12 appearances for the Panthers.

“I’ve moved a lot in high school, but I’ve learned a lot,” she said. “I’ve had to adapt to different players and coaches. I’ve been waiting for an opportunity.”

That opportunity has arrived for Moody, who scored a career-high 23 points and also had seven rebounds and four steals in a 64-46 win against Waukegan on Jan. 4.

Round Lake coach Molly Hennig said Moody’s stunning rise has been a key factor in the team’s recent upswing. The Panthers defeated Palatine 36-35 in their MLK Tournament championship game on Monday, when senior guard Lilli Burton was named the MVP.

“Last year was a learning curve for her in terms of playing basketball again,” Hennig said of Moody. “Toward the end of the season, it started clicking for her. In the summer, she gained a lot of confidence playing and got in better basketball shape.

“She’s learned how to use her body. She’s very strong, with very long arms and a huge wingspan. She gets a lot of offensive rebounds by tipping the ball to herself. We run everything through her or Lilli.”

Hennig said Moody has a future in the sport.

“It’s so awesome to see a kid who has had to move around quite a bit to finally find a home where all the girls all get along so well,” Hennig said. “She’s hoping to play in community college.

“She sees (basketball) as an avenue for the rest of her life. To go from last year and hardly not playing to possibly continuing to play in college, she knows in life there’s no limit. She’s left an impact on me and on the program.”

Moody hopes to keep on cooking.

“It’s all about having a good mindset, sticking to what I know best and playing hard in games,” she said. “It was hard not playing those years. I knew I loved the game of basketball. I really want to go somewhere for basketball in college. Knowing what I know now, I should’ve been playing basketball in the summers and playing in high school more.

“But that stuff, like the COVID season, made me work harder so people would get to see me. This season feels amazing. It’s everything I’ve ever wanted, just playing for my school and having college coaches watching. I just want to keep getting better at the next level.”

Bobby Narang is a freelance reporter for the News-Sun.