“To play for UCLA” was a goal written on a piece of paper by Gabriela Jaquez. When she was in elementary school, she’d tell her grandmother that she was going to play basketball there. Her mother kept the receipt. A few years later, she was with her family, in a Zoom meeting with coach Cori Close, and the first thing she said was, “I want to be a Bruin!” Her 34.2 points, 15.7 rebounds, 4.7 steals, and 2.6 assists performances in her high school senior year left everyone speechless, and she was an obvious choice for ANY side.
“We went bananas,” Close said. “I was almost like, ‘Oh, just not sure I can handle anything else,’ but you know what, it was exactly the medicine I needed at exactly the right time.” Just when Close came to know about Gabriela’s set goal, she said, “She held onto her dream, even when it took us a little longer to get on the Gabriela Jaquez train.”
But the UCLA program was familiar with the Jaquez family. Her elder brother, Jaime Jaquez Jr., was in his last season with the UCLA Bruins when she entered the program. Jaime led the UCLA Bruins to the Final Four of the NCAA Division I tournament after the team’s decade-long wait. For her, the challenge was tougher as the women’s counterpart never crossed the Elite Eight stage. But she was instrumental in her plays, scoring a team-high 18 points t o lead the Bruins to their first-ever Final Four appearance in the NCAA era.
Image Source: Imago
Whenever Jaime visited home, Gabriela challenged him to one-on-one games, to test her preparations and skills. “She attacks, does her moves, tries her best,” Jaquez Jr. said. “I try to not give her all the confidence in the world that she can score on me, so I kind of try a little bit harder when she tries to go at me.”
Well, it was not only her brother who inspired and helped her in her passion, but the whole family had a major role in shaping Gabriela’s career.
Who are Gabriela Jaquez’s parents?
Gabriela was born to Angela and Jaime Jaquez Sr. Both parents played basketball at Concordia University in Irvine. With this, both Angela and Jaine encouraged their children to follow their love for sport. While Gabriela and Jaime Jr. chose basketball, their younger brother Marcos played football for Camarillo.
How has Gabriela Jaquez’s parents propelled the UCLA star to success?
Gabriela’s parents were supportive of her success and journey on the court. They were very much active in Gabriela and Jaime Jr.’s basketball journeys, attending games, coaching, and always prioritizing their children’s well-being.
Her mother, Angela, who became a middle school teacher, always valued education highly and instilled the same in her children. Jaime Sr. emphasized the importance of hard work, both in academics and athletics, a value instilled in his children from a young age. His favorite team is – LA Lakers, and he wishes to see Jaquez playing in a Lakers jersey.
Talking about Gabriela’s toughness, her father recalls one particular instance when Marcos waddled over and punched Gabriela. She punched back. He tackled her. She tackled him back. “It’s funny because I think my daughter had her pacifier in her mouth,” Jaquez Sr. said. “She wasn’t backing down.”
Even though her parents were behind Gabriela’s success, she credits much of her natural drive to her grandmother, Gloria. Jaquez’s grandmother tells stories of her life, how she couldn’t play any sport and be a “real girly-girl”. She flew to the US, earned her cosmetology license here, and ran a successful beauty salon for many years.
Her hard work and drive were also an inspiration for Gabriela as she proudly credits her grandmother. “Hard work is just in my blood,” Jaquez said, “because she came over.” While Gabriela is making headlines at the college level, she is yet to achieve her bigger dream – to play in the WNBA.
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