On paper, Diaba Konate wouldn’t typically be labeled a star on the University of California-Irvine women’s basketball team. While the 5-foot-7 senior guard is a regular in the starting lineup, her offensive stats of 7.5 points and 3.7 assists per game are modest. And yet, Konate typically stands out whenever she takes the court for the Anteaters, whether her jump shot is falling, or if she’s even getting the ball.

Part of that is because Konate has made a name for herself with her defensive tenacity. It’s also because Konate is one of the handful of players in women’s college basketball history who competes while wearing a hijab headscarf.

About a decade ago, the issue of hijab in sports was in the international spotlight. While Muslim female athletes in track and field, soccer and a few other sports had competed in everything from the Olympic Games to high school sports in hijab headwear, certain sports had rules against it. Perhaps the most prominent was basketball, where international governing body FIBA had outlawed any headwear outside of headbands due to safety concerns: that included yarmulkes for Jewish men, and hijab headscarves for Muslim women, for example. Athletes like college basketball star Bilquis Abdul-Qaadir — whose dreams of playing professionally overseas were impeded because leagues under the FIBA umbrella couldn’t allow her to play in her hijab — fought against the rule, public pressure was applied through social media campaigns and legal challenges, and eventually the rule was changed.

That opened the door for women like Diaba Konate, who wouldn’t have had a problem playing college basketball in her hijab head covering, but may not have been able to play professionally, or in international tournaments representing her native France.

Or so it would seem. While FIBA finally cleared the way for women to play basketball anywhere in hijab, France as a country has been trying to outlaw hijab head coverings for everyday people in public spaces, and for athletes hoping to compete under the French flag.

In a clear display of just how far things have come globally in the last decade in terms of embracing Muslim women athletes, Konate often plays in a head covering that is made by Nike or adidas — sport apparel giants who recognize the need for a particular demographic of athletes.

Konate was born in Paris and moved to the U.S. when she enrolled at Idaho State University. As a full-time starter, her best season was as a sophomore, when she averaged 11.9 points, 4.6 rebounds, 4.1 assists and 2.4 steals. After three years with the Bengals, Konate transferred to UC Irvine, where she could use an extra year of eligibility due to the COVID-19 pandemic prematurely ending the 2019-20 season. This season is her fifth year of college ball, and she’s a key member of on an Anteaters squad (21-8) that plays Friday night in the Big West conference tournament, vying for a shot at the NCAA Tournament.

Konate enters the conference tournament as the newly-crowned Big West Best Defensive Player and headliner on the Big West All-Defensive Team. She averages 2.1 steals per game for a UC Irvine squad that ranks No. 1 in the conference in fewest points allowed. Konate had a season-high six steals in a game against Long Beach State, and collected five steals apiece in games against Denver and UC San Diego. Last season she was also on the conference’s All-Defensive Team and her 86.9 percent free-throw accuracy was a UC Irvine school record.