Yesterday UCSD beat Hawaii 60-48 in the Big West tourney women’s title game to earn an automatic bid to this week’s NCAA tournament. The Tritons made the 1st 4 last year and are back in the NCAA tourney for the 2nd year in a row. Earlier today HoopsHD’s Jon Teitel got to speak with UCSD SR SG Sabrina Ma about her “superfriends” and making the NCAA tourney.
You began your college career at San Jose State, where you were named to the MWC All-Freshman Team: how were you able to come in and contribute right from the start? Trusting in the work and all the extra hours I put in. I relied on the support of my teammates/coaching staff, who made me feel right at home and made playing that much easier.
You were also named to the Academic All-Conference Team: how were you able to balance your work on the court with your work in the classroom? I plan out things ahead of time and block out time to study. The academics here are rigorous so I use my counselors as well.
As a sophomore in 2023 you scored a career-high 31 PTS/7-15 3PM in a win over Bethesda CA: was it just 1 of those scenarios where every shot you put up seemed to go in because you were “in the zone”? I just got in a rhythm/flow, saw the hoop get bigger, and had my teammates set me up for shots.
Why did you decide to transfer, and what made you choose UCSD? The culture at UCSD: I talked to the coaches when I was in high school and they are straightforward/honest so I knew exactly what I would get. They genuinely care for me as a person both on/off the court.
You play for Coach Heidi VanDerveer: what makes her such a good coach, and what is the most important thing that you have learned from her so far? 1 big thing is the culture that she has established here. Her staff is a reflection of her, and her leadership shows in our selflessness. We all play for each other and have a bigger purpose outside of ourselves, which comes from her.
I saw that you and several of your teammates (Erin Condron/Rosa Smith/Dymonique Maxie/Makayla Rose) were referred to as the “superfriends”: do you think that your team plays so well because everyone gets along with each other so well? For sure! We spend a lot of time with each other and would not mind spending every day together. We do a lot of things outside of basketball like going to the beach or getting some food together as an entire team, which really helps our chemistry on the court.
Yesterday in the Big West tourney title game you had 7 REB/5 AST/0 TO in a win over Hawaii: what did it mean to you to win a title, and what was the feeling like in your locker room afterward? It was amazing: everyone was able to contribute and we focused on ourselves and trusted in the work that we had put in this season. We really capitalized on our defense in the 2nd half and tried to get the ball to Erin in the post.
You have increased your scoring during each of your 4 years in college: how have you been able to keep improving every single year? Getting up extra shots and using my teammates to get better. Scoring is nice, but I do not think about that and just play my game and have fun.
1 of your toughest opponents this year was Washington: what impressed you the most about the Huskies? It was a while ago and was a fun environment to play with. It was fun to see how Elle Ladine has developed as a player since I have known her since high school.
What kind of seed do you think you deserve, and what kind of seed do you think you will get? I have seen a lot of predictions that put us at a 13/14. Last year we were in the play-in game as a 16 so we are hoping for a higher seed than that.
