Solano College women’s basketball team features 33-year-old sophomore
The 33-year-old is more than a decade older than most of the community college players. Wilcox was a freshman with the Falcons back in the 2008-09 campaign after a stellar career at nearby Rio Vista High School where she was a two-time conference MVP.
FAIRFIELD – When Solano College’s Macie Wilcox enters a recent game against Gavilan, she looks no different than most of the others on the court.
She makes a scoop shot in the lane, sets up her teammates on the perimeter or in the post, makes an open 3-pointer and tries to play feisty on defense.
Wilcox is no average sophomore though.
The 33-year-old is more than a decade older than most of the community college players. Wilcox was a freshman with the Falcons back in the 2008-09 campaign after a stellar career at nearby Rio Vista High School where she was a two-time conference MVP.
“I was a little burnt out on basketball back then, so I just wanted to go and focus on my life,” Wilcox said after the game against Gavilan.
Wilcox’s brother owns ASAP Fitness gym in Dixon, and Solano assistant coach Lizzy Roark began helping there. Eventually, Roark and Macie made small talk about basketball.
“She told me, ‘Once a hooper, always a hooper,’ since I was joking that I still had one year left of eligibility,” Wilcox said. “She told me that I should come and check it out. At first, it was kind of a joke, but then I thought that maybe I could do this.”
Wilcox said she was still interested in getting her degree in kinesiology and thought that basketball could help her stay focused as she started taking units again.
Solano head coach Matt Borchert is pleased to have Wilcox back. She is averaging 6.6 points, 3.7 rebounds and 1.3 assists in her first 16 games for the Falcons, who are atop the Bay Valley Conference standings after Friday’s 75-32 win over Contra Costa. She added eight points in that victory.
“She’s played really well,” Borchert said. “She gives us a lot of energy and maturity. She shoots the ball well, she plays defense, and she’s a hustler. She’s getting us extra possessions, and she shows good leadership. Everything you’d think that a 33-year-old would give you, she’s done that.”
Wilcox acknowledged that her first time back in practice after a decade was initially a little awkward.
“It was interesting,” Wilcox said, smiling. “I think all of the other girls looked at me, and I think they were a little confused. I think they were thinking, ‘Is this an assistant coach? Is she in here trying to get an inside scoop? What’s going on here?’ We all laugh about it now. They call me Grandma.”
Wilcox said as the weeks and months passed, everyone became more comfortable.
“These girls are great; they’re very supportive,” she said. “My body is not keeping up with the way I want to be playing, but the coaching staff and all the players are super supportive. I have a back injury that is affecting my hip.”
She’s still getting used to playing basketball with a more muscular, chiseled physique that she developed from CrossFit trainings over the last decade. Even though Wilcox stands just 5-foot-6, Borchert will sometimes utilize her skills in the post because of her strength.
Wilcox features several tattoos on her arms and legs, and all of them are personal.
“The one on my forearm is for my great grandparents and for my grandmother who had breast cancer, and my brother actually drew it,” she said. “I grew up on the water (in Rio Vista), so I love waves and flowers so over 10 or 12 years, I got a whole sleeve done. Growing up, my grandmother always called me a gypsy, so I have a gypsy drawn on my leg.”
Wilcox is still eligible for women’s basketball at a four-year level. She hasn’t ruled it out.
“I would love to do that, but I’ll be 34 by the time the season is over,” she said. “With my injuries, would (coaches) want to take that on? But if I got the opportunity, I might look into it.”