It’s just another weekday morning, and trudging her way to the cafeteria from her Parliament Hall dorm for breakfast is women’s basketball player Sasha Cedeno. Standing at 6-foot-3 inches, she makes her way through idolizing looks and whispers of admiration from fellow Owls.

Cedeno is one of eight freshmen on FAU’s women’s basketball team — the youngest team in the National Collegiate Athletic Association. The forward was named the Conference USA Freshman of the Week on of Feb. 2 and continues to prove herself on the court, averaging five points per game and making 31.6 percent of all 3-point attempts.

Head coach Kellie Lewis-Jay told FAUSports.com, “Cedeno has the potential to be one of the best players to come through the program.” She went on to praise Cedeno saying, “Sasha has that instinct for the game that you just can’t teach.”

Being the tallest on the team, Cedeno is hard to miss. But it’s not just her stature that caught the eyes and hearts of FAU’s basketball fans. Cedeno has taken her fiery on-court presence out of the Burrow and into the university community as a warm-hearted person, quickly becoming a favorite among athletes and other students alike.

“She’s kind of like the fun one on the team. You can always laugh with her … She lightens up the mood in every situation,” said teammate Kat Wright. “I find that whenever I’m walking around with her, especially around campus, she knows absolutely everyone. And it kind of throws me off because they’re people I should know, people I’ve had classes with and stuff like that and she’ll just go up and hug them. Her presence is absolutely huge and everyone else notices it too.”

The Spring, Texas native has a great attitude and passion toward FAU is also worth noting. “Everything here has been just amazing — the experience, the weather. Just being in college is a new experience that I feel like everybody should have a chance to witness,” Cedeno said.

With the team set to participate in the Conference USA tournament after the season ends, Cedeno is ready to give it her all. “Since I was little, I dreamed about coming to college to play a sport,” she said. “What I would like to accomplish while I’m here is, first of all, make our team known and then, second of all, make it to all the tournaments and win.”