clock menu more-arrow no yes mobile

Filed under:

Here’s what Destiny Slocum’s Maryland teammates had to say about her buzzer-beater vs. West Virginia

This isn’t the first time Slocum has done something crazy.

NCAA Womens Basketball: Big Ten Conference Tournament-Purdue vs Maryland Aaron Doster-USA TODAY Sports

In Destiny Slocum’s first season for Maryland women's basketball, she broke the freshman records for assists and three-pointers made, won Big Ten Freshman of the Year and hit her fair share of deep threes along the way.

In Sunday’s NCAA Tournament game against West Virginia, she did something that topped them all.

With time winding down in the second half, Teana Muldrow had just made a layup to cut Maryland’s lead to 35-24, and looked to be gaining momentum heading into halftime.

Slocum caught the inbound pass, and flung the ball over her head like a soccer throw in. It initially looked like a pass to Kristen Confroy, who was streaking down court, but she knew the ball wasn’t going to her.

“I thought she was definitely throwing the ball at the rim,” Confroy said. “It’s funny because she’s made so many crazy plays like that over the year that you just come to expect it. When she launched that one I was like ‘come on Destiny that was a little crazy.’”

The ball kept going, until it swished through the net. Slocum stood at the spot holding her follow through, her mouth wide open. A few seconds later, her teammates mobbed her.

“Watching that thing was crazy,” Slocum said. “I was shocked.”

At the Big Ten Tournament, the team was practicing overhead shots at one of its shootarounds, and Slocum was the only one who could get it to the rim.

“As it was going I was like, ‘Man, that could actually go in,’ and I turned around and she was standing there like, ‘Oh my god, I can’t believe that just went in,’” Confroy said.

Slocum has done some amazing things on the court this season, and as the season goes on, the team just expects her to hit big shots.

“In the beginning of the season it was kind of surprising,” junior guard Ieshia Small said. “But now it’s like, ‘Destiny, you’re supposed to hit that.’”

This isn’t the first time the Terps have ended quarters with a long buzzer-beater. Slocum has several this season, Kiah Gillespie had one to end the third quarter against Michigan, and Walker-Kimbrough ended the third against Indiana with a three-quarter-court heave.

“I thought mine was pretty cool and thought Shatori had the best one thus far, but Destiny just raised it to a whole different level,” Gillespie said. “I’m gonna have to get my trick shots out.”