SPORTING MAVS

Starr on the Court

As the heart of her team, Starr Jacobs helps bring a competitive edge to women’s basketball.

The first time Starr Jacobs gave basketball a try, it wasn’t exactly love at first dribble. She was about 5 years old, and she was at her first basketball practice for a recreation-league team.

“I remember I was late, and then once I got out there, I was terrible,” she says. “I told my dad I just did not want to play basketball. So I quit.”

When Jacobs decided to give basketball another try a few years later, everything started clicking, and while playing with friends on an Amateur Athletic Union team, she fell in love with the sport. She would go on to play for Duncanville High School, helping to lead the school to back-to-back state championships.

Even as a standout player for Duncanville, Jacobs was plagued by injuries; eventually, she realized she needed to take time off from basketball and allow her body to heal. After a short stint at the University of Houston, she transferred to Temple College and began building her game back up. There, she racked up a number of accolades, including finishing second nationally in points per game (23.6) as a sophomore.

“There’s a resiliency to Starr that most people don’t know about,” says Shereka Wright, head coach for UTA women’s basketball, who recruited Jacobs to UTA in 2021. “Starr understands what it takes to compete, to go beyond what expectations are and do what it takes to win.”

In her first year at UTA, Jacobs dominated, closing out the 2021-22 season with an incredible list of honors, including Sun Belt Conference Player of the Year, Sun Belt Tournament MVP, First Team All-Sun Belt selection, and the NCAA Starting Five. She helped lead the Maverick women to a Sun Belt Conference championship and an automatic bid in the NCAA tournament.

With the team’s transition to the Western Athletic Conference (WAC) in the 2022-23 season, Jacobs continued to put up strong numbers, and in early March, she was named the WAC Player of the Year. She also earned placement on the WAC All-Defensive Team and First Team All-WAC.

Jacobs attributes her ongoing success to mindset. “I’m just very competitive. I love going against players who are as good as me or even better,” she says, noting that it’s a way of thinking that applies in every area of her life.

“There’s a certain attitude that goes in to playing that I don’t think the average person has, a certain attitude and discipline that can apply to so many areas off the court,” she says.

Asked what her future holds, she says she’s keeping her options open and her head in the game.

“At this point, I’m kind of the heart of the team, and that puts me in a fun position because I always have to be on top of that,” she says. “So for now, I’m just taking it day by day.”