The first time Micah Weaver ’18 played competitive basketball she was five years old. She was the only girl on the team. It would be another two years before Weaver found a girls team to play on, and even then, all of her teammates were older.
None of this bothered Weaver. Basketball was about having fun.
A shooting guard from Poth, Texas, Weaver began her collegiate basketball career at Texas A&M University – Kingsville. Yet after two seasons as a Javelina, she realized basketball had stopped being fun and felt more and more like work. In a difficult decision, Weaver transferred to the University of Texas at San Antonio (UTSA), both for a change of pace and some distance from the court. It was the first time since childhood that she hadn’t been on a team.
To fill the void, Weaver began working with the UTSA Athletics Department as a videographer, filming games for sports like football, softball, baseball, and, of course, basketball. Although she enjoyed the camerawork, the part-time job had an unintended effect – it made her miss basketball again. Bad. Weaver found herself watching games asking, ‘Why am I not out there?’
As fate would have it, Trinity women’s basketball played UTSA in an exhibition game that Weaver filmed. The game, which ended in a nine-point loss for Trinity, was surprisingly close for a DI versus DIII matchup. Weaver’s interest was piqued. Impressed with his positivity and passion, she also noticed Coach Cameron “Cam” Hill and his interactions with players.
“I vividly remember just how well he coached the girls,” says Weaver. “It was very apparent that all of them highly respected him. Watching that game put Trinity on my radar.”
Weaver kept tabs on the Trinity women’s team as their season progressed. Although she was excited by what she saw, it wasn’t until a morning drive to UTSA that Weaver had an epiphany. Her commute took her directly alongside Trinity and, glancing out her window, she focused on Murchison Tower. Suddenly, she knew what she wanted to do. She called Coach Hill later that day and set up a meeting to discuss any open positions on the Trinity team.
That fall, Weaver was lacing up in Sam’s Gym as #25, a tribute to Becky Hammon and her tenure at Colorado State.
“From the start, I absolutely fell in love with the girls, the program, all of it,” says Weaver.
Weaver’s first season at Trinity was also a record-breaking one for women’s basketball. Not only did the Tigers win the 2017 Southern Collegiate Athletic Conference (SCAC) with a victory over Texas Lutheran University, but the team also captured its first back-to-back SCAC championship in school history. This win advanced them into the NCAA first-round playoffs.
After wins against Hendrix College and Claremont-Mudd-Scripps, the Tigers ultimately fell to Whitman College in the third-round playoff game in Saint Paul, Minn. Their campaign finished in a 28-2 season record, tying the school record for one year set by the 2002-03 team. The Tigers also advanced to the sectional for the first time since 2005.
Yet, no matter how many records the team broke, Weaver says Coach Hill never discussed it.
“We always took things game-by-game. Our focus was always to look ahead and Coach Cam never discussed the rankings or the records we broke in season,” says Weaver. “Our slogan was Tigers Together, and it is that unity and togetherness that took us to the final game.”
A focus on the present was critical, says Weaver, because it caused the team to practice with total concentration and energy. Although the final loss against Whitman was heartbreaking, Weaver is proud of the team’s success and honored to be one of 16 teams that was still practicing and grinding toward the finish. On the night of the loss, Weaver says the team’s resolve showed through when everyone met in the hotel lobby afterward for games and pizza, forgoing sulking individually in their rooms.
A sociology major with a sport management minor, Weaver is already excited for the upcoming season. She comes into it averaging 15.8 points per game, 30 games played, and 77.1 percent in free throws. It is her last season of eligibility, a bittersweet fact that leaves her committed to a season of hard work and determined success. Despite losing five seniors, Hill has recruited six rising first-years, all “really good” in Weaver’s estimation.
Eyes shining, headband pulled high above her forehead, you can almost feel her itch to get back on the court, moving the ball “possession-by-possession, game-by-game.” After stepping away once from basketball, it’s clear Weaver won’t repeat that mistake any time soon.
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