BRUNSWICK – Doubt was never something that crept into her mindset in high school.

Alexa Kaubris went out and played basketball like she’d been born to do so.

Starting as a freshman at Dirigo, Kaubris thrived and had great success during an incredible four-year stretch with the Cougars.

It can be hard to shake one’s confidence when you’re a 1,000-point scorer and only lose one game in four years. Yet, it took less than a month of her college basketball career at Bowdoin for Kaubris to begin questioning herself.

The Colby game of last December still echoes in her mind. It was not one of her most stellar performances. Her three turnovers in eight minutes of play invited a wave of doubt that overwhelmed her.

“Usually in high school, you had a bad game and you score like 10 points, but it wasn’t disastrous as the Colby game stands out in my mind,” said Kaubris. “I think I was probably tearing up after that game, which I normally don’t do, but I was really upset because basketball has been such a big part of my life. It’s something I had done my entire life, and I was thinking I wasn’t that good at it. I was at a low point. There was definitely a lot of doubt, and it was piling up.”

Kaubris went 90-1 and won three state titles and four regional crowns with the Cougars. She was the MVC Player of the Year and the most valuable player in the Western C tournament two years straight and was named a finalist for Miss Basketball.

Basketball came naturally to her.

“Expectations have always been there,” said Kaubris. “They just help me focus and push me harder.”

As a college freshman, the mental toughness developed in high school asked for more than she could deliver. From her perspective, she was failing. It wasn’t until her coach and teammates helped her see otherwise that Kaubris began to regain confidence.

“I think she was too hard on herself,” said Bowdoin coach Stefanie Pemper. “It’s hard to articulate because it’s not so simple as saying, ‘Relax out there,’ because she’s so intense, but it was a matter of getting her to realize how much she gives us and how much she can contribute. That we don’t need her to do anything heavy lifting-wise. It was more about clarifying what I thought her role could be right then and there. I thought she reacted really well.”

As the Polar Bears made their march to the Elite Eight for the fifth straight year and won a sixth consecutive NESCAC title, Kaubris began finding her niche. She played in all 30 games and averaged 18 minutes. She was a defensive spark plug off the bench and chipped in nearly four points per game.

“Around midseason, I started to play with more confidence,” said Kaubris. “That was a huge thing for me. I found that confidence was a huge factor in the college game. If you don’t have confidence, you’re going to get eaten alive in the college game, which happened to me a couple of times the first half of the season. You get killed if you’re not ready to play and not ready to step up to the challenge.”

Kaubris thought she was ready after her standout high school career. In some ways, she was well prepared. She joined the Polar Bears with a better understanding of defense than many of her teammates. Her mental toughness was something that prepared her for the collegiate demands.

“I can’t imagine not having the kind of high school career that I did,” said Kaubris. “I don’t think I’d have become anywhere near the player I did or be able to compete at the college level. Coach (Gavin ) Kane instilled a mentality that is just so essential for the college game. He taught me how to hate to lose. I hate to lose. One of our sayings our sophomore year was ‘Refuse to lose.’ That’s what I always remember. He taught us how to win. I can never thank him enough. He really did prepare me.”

Part of her early frustrations stemmed from an inability to meet those standards she placed on herself, but her coach and teammates helped her change that perspective.

“She was definitely helping us already,” said Pemper. “It was more a little fine tuning, and this is what it would take for you to be a consistent part of our lineup.”

Kaubris got bolstered by teammates, especially Kaitee Daley, who is now her roommate. Pemper wasn’t afraid to use Kaubris in tough games and crucial situations.

“From that point on, I had a lot of support from my teammates,” said Kaubris. “They really believed in me. It turned things around for me when I just realized that I needed to just play, go out hard and play as hard as I could and as much as the team needed me for.”

She brings those same lessons learned into this season. She’s expected to come off the bench again and looks to improve her all-around game while making an impact wherever she can.

“I feel like I’m riding that high from last year and building on that,” said Kaubris. “I just want to be a confident player. I know I can do it. I just need to go out and be confident in myself.”

Pemper already has confidence in Kaubris. She noticed a willingness for Kaubris to take risks and try plays others wouldn’t attempt. She likes that mentality and is sure that the best is yet to come.

“I absolutely love her game,” said Pemper. “She is just the real deal. There’s obviously her athleticism. There’s skill and then there’s the intangibles. Alexa is the highest that it gets in terms of intangibles. She’s consistent every day, both ends of the floor. There’s her competitiveness, and she believes that we’re really good. By her actions every day, she demonstrates that she believes in this team. She has a great morale and spirit about her.”

No doubt about that.