Mountain View grad Destiny Slocum is the talk of the town for Maryland women’s basketball
Though she most recently made headlines for a 70-foot buzzer-beater against West Virginia in the second round of the NCAA Women’s Tournament, former Mountain View High star and current Maryland basketball player Destiny Slocum has had plenty of memorable moments during her freshman campaign.
Slocum, a consensus five-star prospect in the 2016 recruiting class, averaged 24.6 points, 6.8 rebounds and 6.1 assists per game as a senior at Mountain View. She has started 33 games for the Terrapins (32-2), was named the Big Ten Freshman of the Year, and is averaging 11.6 points per game.
No. 3 seed Maryland takes on No. 10 Oregon (22-13) Saturday at 9:30 a.m. in the Sweet Sixteen (ESPN). If Maryland wins, it could face women’s national power UConn in a regional final Monday, for the right to play in the Final Four.
“At the Big Ten Tournament, we had been practicing those kinds of shots,” Slocum said in the postgame press conference after the 83-56 win over the Mountaineers. “Just kind of throw it up. That’s what was in my head. Throw it up and see what happens. Watching that thing was crazy. I was in shock.”
Slocum has had her share of big performances this season. She hit five 3-pointers and scored 23 points in an 87-81 loss against No. 1 UConn. Her second-best scoring output of the year was against West Virginia in the NCAA Tournament (21 points).
“The bigger the moment, the bigger the stage, the bigger she plays,” Maryland head coach Brenda Frese told the Baltimore Sun.
A SportsCenter Top-10 heave was just the latest in Slocum’s heroics. Slocum’s teammates recently spoke about her in a video interview with ESPN.
“She’s not afraid of the challenge,” teammate Shatori Walker-Kimbrough said.
“Even though she’s a freshman, she leads our team,” teammate Brionna Jones said.
“She doesn’t care who she’s playing, what the score is or that she’s a freshman,” teammate Kristen Confroy said. “She’s going to play hard and she’s going to compete.”
Said Slocum in the video: “I just kind of do what I have to do, taking those kind of shots to help my team out.’’
No. 10 Oregon at No. 3 Maryland
- When: 9:30 a.m. Saturday
- Where: Webster Bank Arena (10,000), Bridgeport, Conn.
- Records: Oregon (22-13); Maryland (32-2)
- Broadcast: ESPN (Cable One 133/1133, DirecTV 206, Dish 140)
This story was originally published March 24, 2017 at 1:54 PM with the headline "Mountain View grad Destiny Slocum is the talk of the town for Maryland women’s basketball."