It was love at first dribble. High Point University guard Macy Spencer fell in love with basketball from the first time she began playing the game she loves. Growing up in a household with five siblings in Katy, Texas, Spencer certainly had sibling competition, but at a young age, she decided to step outside the bounds of the Spencer family norm.
 
"I have five siblings, and none of them have played basketball," Spencer said.

Although she may have been the only sibling to play basketball, she was inspired to play by another family member. It was by Spencer's own interest that she went to her mom and asked for help to get started.
 
"My mom, she played basketball in high school," Spencer said. "And then one year, I was in elementary, I don't remember what grade. I was like, 'Oh, I want to play KYB' [Katy Youth Basketball]. And she was like, 'Okay, I'll put you in that.' And then from there, I've never stopped playing."
 
Her love for the game only grew as she entered high school at Obra D. Tompkins High School, where, as a sophomore, she was able to crack the varsity lineup. Her breakout came in her junior year, which put her on the radar for many schools. She ultimately committed to University of Nevada, Las Vegas, but it was not her original first choice.
 
"I think I got my first offer my junior year, and then I kind of gained a lot of attention my junior year, going into my senior year," Spencer said. "I was actually originally committed to SFA [Stephan F. Austin State University] in Texas, and coach [Mark] Kellogg left and went to West Virginia, and so I decommitted, and I opened my recruitment, committed to UNLV."
 
When she got to UNLV, Spencer faced her first challenges as a basketball player. It was the first time she would have to sit behind someone and wait for her chance. Spencer had only 17 appearances averaging just over six minutes in her freshman season at UNLV scoring a total of 48 points. She saw an increase in playing time in her second season, averaging 10.8 minutes per game, appearing in 24 games and scoring one point shy of 100 points. She also increased her field goal percentage by three percent while having shot the ball 40 more times.
 
"Knowing that she comes from a good program and her efficiency, we go back and watch her clips, and when she would get in the game, they were working to get her shots," High Point Head Coach Chelsea Banbury said. "Just the type of actions that they ran and everything, it seemed to fit really well with what we wanted to do offensively."
 
The decision to transfer to High Point has proven to be an outstanding decision for both Spencer and the High Point women's basketball team.
 
Spencer put her team on her back in their semifinal game against Winthrop University scoring 25 points, five rebounds, two assists and two steals to send the Panthers to their second straight Big South title game. They became back-to-back Big South Conference champions on March 8 punching their ticket to the women's March Madness.
 
On top of the team's success, Spencer also showed significant individual growth. She led the Big South in scoring, averaging 18.38 points per game, and topped the conference in free throw percentage at 80.9%. Spencer played in all 32 games, averaging 31.5 minutes per contest. She also led the league in three-pointers made, averaging three per game, which ranked sixth nationally. Her offensive firepower, combined with an improved defensive presence, earned her Big South Conference Women's Basketball Player of the Year and Newcomer of the Year honors.
 
"I think from the jump, seeing how her strengths fit in with how we wanted to play and how we wanted to use her, I think it just built off of that," Banbury said. "We were trying to put her in positions to be successful where her game fits in with what we want to do and she saw quite a bit of success early on."
 
Spencer's success on the court is due to the confidence she has gained from the great relationships she has built with the coaching staff and her teammates. However, Spencer has not always been confident, going back to her time at UNLV.
 
"It [confidence] means the world," Spencer said. "I think my first two years in college, I lost a little bit of confidence, but this year, I am just more than ever. I think I've gained a lot of confidence being here, and she's [Banbury] instilled a lot of confidence in me, and so have my teammates."
 
Confidence takes time to build. Along with spending time in the gym and working on perfecting her craft, building relationships can create confidence boosts that can slowly grow confidence over time. Those relationships were built early with strong foundations from the get-go. As soon as Spencer hit the transfer portal, she knew there was something different about High Point.
 
"I only took one visit in the transfer portal, and that was here [at High Point]," Spencer said. "The school was amazing. The coaches were amazing. The players, when I met them, were amazing. And I loved the winning program, the winning culture, everything about this school drew me in."
 
Spencer did not waste any time working on her chemistry with her new team. They clicked from the start.
 
Their summer workouts and team bonding became the spark the team needed to become unified in their sisterhood. No player has benefited from this more than graduate point guard Aaliyah Collins. Collins and Spencer have become quite the duo, averaging 33.58 points, 6.78 assists, 1.43 blocks and 3.9 steals per game, which has raised the game for the rest of the team.
 
"I could not be happier and more proud for her success," Collins said . "She is a wonderful person. She's very funny. She puts in a lot of hard work, and it is showing, and it's well deserved."
 
Perhaps Spencer needed a change of scenery. Maybe she was not getting the support she needed at UNLV. But one thing is for sure: The 5'8" brown haired guard is more confident than ever and has seen her love for the game grow.
 
"I'm good at basketball," Spencer said. "I do really enjoy playing it. It's just so fun to me. It's not a job. It's just what I love to do."