Jaco started playing basketball at the age of six and worked her way up the ladder, earning a scholarship to USC out of Windward High (Mar Vista).
"My dream was always to go to USC," Jaco said. "My stepfather went here, my stepsister went here, and I've always wanted to stay home and have the chance to let my family see me play. So once the offer came around, it was a no brainer."
Jaco's freshman year at her dream school was filled with highs and lows. She struggled to adapt to coming off the bench and taking a backseat to USC's upperclassmen, but her patience was rewarded when the team won its first-ever Pac-12 Championship that March. In all her time at USC, that moment stands out as the culmination of perseverance and belief, two traits she's realized the importance of over time."I've learned that the intangibles are the most important part: teamwork, chemistry, camaraderie and stuff like that," Jaco said. "A lot of people come in thinking, 'I'm going to score this many points or get this many rebounds, and I've learned that you should have more goals that aren't so outcome-based. That will let everything else fall into place -- to just not focus so much on the outcome, but more with your own personal and team growth."
Jaco did come to USC eyeing two key goals, though.
Before stepping foot on campus, she had her heart set on earning a Master's degree. Through hard work and countless hours of summer school, Jaco received her Bachelor's degree in social sciences (psychology emphasis) last year and will walk away with a Master's in communication management this year. Inspired by her volunteer work with "A Place Called Home," an after school program dedicated to helping children complete their schoolwork and find their passions, Jaco aims to found her own nonprofit one day before eventually becoming a middle school or high school coach.
Jaco will also likely leave USC as the program leader in career three-point efficiency and runner-up in career three-pointers made, two marks that she has striven for from start to finish.
"Without the help of my teammates, there's no way that I could get those threes off," Jaco gushed. "So thankfully I had some good teammates, some good passes. And yeah, it's really special for me."
As Jaco and her teammates gear up for the last two home games of the season and the senior's career, she's thankful for the way her time at USC has changed her.
"As a person, I'm definitely more mature, just in the way I'm thinking," Jaco said. "Wanting to grow and wanting to get better and develop myself every day. And I've really just figured out what I'm most passionate about."
Jaco and the Trojans take on Washington State tonight at 6 p.m. She and her fellow seniors -- Jordan Adams, Alexis Lloyd and Ivana Jakubcova -- will be honored ahead of Sunday's game against Washington.
