SJSU Athletics
Two-time Mountain West Freshman of the Week, SJSU sophomore guard Sabrina Ma is in the midst of her second season at San José State University.
She said she started playing basketball in an Asian league in elementary school, and Athlete’s Unlimited Pro Basketball from middle school to high school.
Ma was recruited to SJSU by the last coaching staff, and she said she ended up really liking the team and coaches. As a San Francisco local, she likes how close San José is to home, and that her family can come to watch her games.
She said the team gets along really well, but she thinks they need more chemistry on the court.
“I think that’ll come as we play more games with each other,” she said.
Ma said sometimes it’s tiring to find a good balance between doing homework, working out and sleeping, of which she tries to get a decent amount.
She said her family, friends and everyone who believes in her make being a basketball player more fun.
“The Asian community. There’s a lot of people back home that look up to me that I didn’t even know about. My parents were telling me, like younger kids,” she said.
Her grandfather and father are alumni of SJSU, but she is the first in the family to play a collegiate sport. Ma said that makes her experience as an athlete new and more special.
She said SJSU Womens’ Basketball head coach April Phillips is super kind, genuine, and wants the best for the players not only on the court, but off the court.
“We do a lot of developmental things that’ll help us later on in life, like connecting with professionals and talking about different career paths,” Ma said.
She said Coach April Phillips is super kind, genuine, and wants the best for the players not only on the court, but off the court.
Phillips said she met Ma for the first time in person at a press conference. She also said Ma is bubbly, communicates a lot, and has a really light sense of humor.
“She’s somewhat of a chameleon, in the sense that she can mix and mingle and get along with everybody, which I think is really cool and really good for our culture as well,” she said.
Phillips said she motivates Ma by giving her challenges to meet, which she often rises to.
“At every huddle, she grabs my arm and she won’t let it go so I always know who’s there. And she likes to knock over my coffee pre-games,” Phillips said.
Ma said she loves her teammates, and she feels like they’re sisters, older and younger.
“I do have a little sister, but they’re also kind of like little sisters to me,” Ma said.
Sophomore guard and pre-nursing major Alyssa Malla said her and Ma have gotten really close since the summer. Malla said they have very similar funny and bubbly personalities.
“When I look at our team and I see we need to pick up our energy, I look to Sab,” Malla said. “If she’s not here, she’ll come back later to get shots up. And if she makes a mistake in the game, she’ll come back and work on it herself. I think she’s very driven and ambitious with her goals.”
She said she wants to see Ma be more confident in her shot for the remainder of the season.
“I know this year hasn’t gone the best, but I know she has it in her. Yeah, I just want to see her be more consistent,” Malla said.
Junior forward-center and psychology major Amhyia Moreland is Ma’s roommate. She said she would describe Ma with a lot of energy, hustle, and hard work.
“She’s gonna give you everything she has, for sure. Off the court, just a sweetheart. Like, she’s always so happy, so giddy, like joyful,” Moreland said.
She said when she sees Ma giving her all, she wants to do the same. Like Malla, Moreland said she also wants to see more confidence from Ma.
“I feel like she gets in her head a little bit too much. But we need her just like we need everyone else,” Moreland said.
Ma said off the court, she likes listening to music, doing art and singing, but not publicly. Before a game, she takes a pregame nap, and listens to R&B in the car, escalating to trap when she’s in the locker room.
This season, she said her goal is to be the best she can.
“Trying to help the team, doing what it takes to win, and just being a team player. Just sticking to what I know,” Ma said.