It is easy to see the camaraderie in the UTRGV Women’s Basketball Team. However, two of its players share a bond beyond that of teammates. These two athletes are sisters and guards Daniela and Emily Azubell.
Their exposure to basketball began early. They first hit the hardwood in fourth and fifth grades as teammates for a church. From there, they went on to play for Robert Vela High School in Edinburg, Allen Community College, Coastal Bend College and UTRGV.
Emily is a senior studying multidisciplinary studies and Daniela is a management junior.
It is not often that one sees siblings playing on the same team. The Azubell sisters said playing together has helped them become better.
“We get competitive with each other,” Daniela said.
“We’ll go home and talk about practice and stuff and be, like, ‘I should’ve done this or that.’ We push each other to be better,” Emily said.
Fellow teammate Idil Türk said the sisters are a vital component on the team.
“They are good players and even better teammates,” Türk said. “It doesn’t matter if they’re on the court or off the court, they always cheer. They are two players that any teammate would want on their team.”
The Azubells are two of only three athletes on the team who were born and raised locally. There is always the stigma that local fans expect native players to perform better during games. Nevertheless, the sisters said they have felt quite the opposite.
“The community is really supportive,” Emily said. “The [Rio Grande] Valley is so supportive of their athletes. I just feel their support more than anything.”
Even with the unwavering support of the fans, the sisters said their mom is the core of their success on and off the court.
“She always works hard and she is a single mom raising us,” Emily said. “We always look up to her for her hard work. We try to follow her example.”
Surprisingly, the sisters did not inherit their love for basketball from their parents. They discovered it on their own and to them, it is more than just a sport. Daniela said in basketball, she finds the peace and solitude needed to get through her week.
“Basketball is a fun way to escape everything,” Daniela said. “You can play for hours and hours and you don’t think of any chores, any responsibilities, homework or school. When you play it and you love it, you just want to do it all the time.”
Roommate and fellow player Laura Van Tilburg said that outside of the court, the sisters are exemplary individuals.
“They have great character … they really set a good example,” Van Tilburg said. “I trust them. They have good morals, good ethics, they’re just overall good people.”
Outside of school and training, the sisters enjoy playing basketball with their siblings and watching suspense movies together.
Catch No. 2 Emily and No. 3 Daniela as they battle it out on the court against Western Athletic Conference foe University of Missouri-Kansas City at 7 p.m. Thursday on the WAC Digital Network at http://wacsports.com/watch/.
