Maryland women’s basketball guard Ashley Owusu announces intentions to enter transfer portal

Maryland women’s basketball junior guard Ashley Owusu announced via Instagram on Tuesday morning that she will enter the transfer portal.

Because of the extra year of eligibility granted due to the COVID-19 pandemic, Owusu will have two years of college basketball left at her next destination if she opts not to enter the 2023 WNBA Draft.

Owusu averaged 14.3 points per game, the second most on the team behind sophomore forward/guard Angel Reese, and 3.7 assists per game during the 2021-22 season.

Owusu committed to Maryland nearly five years ago on Aug. 10, 2017. Head coach Brenda Frese’s “floor general” earned All-Big Ten honors in each of her three seasons and was an AP All-American in each of the past two seasons. Her and junior guard Diamond Miller formed one of the most dangerous backcourts in the nation for multiple years, but Frese will need a new starting point guard come November. This past season, when Owusu was out, freshman guard Shyanne Sellers often started in her place.

The Woodbridge, Virginia, native missed five of the Terps’ last six regular season games due to a sprained ankle or illness, but she was sensational in their first two NCAA Tournament games. Owusu scored 24 points against Delaware in the first round and 20 points against Florida Gulf Coast in the second round to help propel Maryland to the Sweet 16. However, she was held to only four points on 2-of-9 shooting while dealing with a stomach bug against Stanford.

Owusu, who cited “events that happened on and off the court,” will likely have a long list of suitors in the transfer portal. Maryland also loses graduate students Katie Benzan and Chloe Bibby to graduation, but Owusu is the only Terp to enter the portal at this time.