Maryland’s Destiny Slocum named WBCA National Freshman of the Year

Maryland point guard Destiny Slocum was named National Freshman of the Year on Saturday by the Women’s Basketball Coaches Association.

Slocum averaged 11.5 points and 6.0 assists per game in her rookie season with the Terps. She started 34 games and averaged a team-high 30.9 minutes per contest, including 33.7 minutes in conference play.

She made national headlines by sinking a 65-foot overhead heave in the second round of the NCAA Tournament against West Virginia, but Slocum spent the whole season knocking down three-pointers. She connected on 71 of 190 attempts (37.4 percent), breaking Kristi Toliver’s program freshman record for made threes.

Slocum was named Big Ten Freshman of the Year after the regular season. The other national freshman award, handed out by the USBWA, went to Oregon’s Sabrina Ionescu, who got the better of Slocum in the Ducks’ Sweet 16 upset on March 25.

With Brionna Jones and Shatori Walker-Kimbrough graduating, Slocum figures to be Maryland’s cornerstone next season. Head coach Brenda Frese showed plenty of confidence in her point guard as a rookie, and that should continue throughout the next three years.