Maryland women’s basketball guard Destiny Slocum had her least productive game of the season last Friday against Mount St. Mary’s.
She scored a season-low eight points, matched three assists with three turnovers and, for the second consecutive game, had two first-half fouls.
But Sunday at Niagara, she responded with a career-best 25-point, seven assist performance in three quarters. Her burst helped the Terps earn a 96-64 win.
“She takes what the game allows her, so a lot of times she’ll feed whoever’s open,” coach Brenda Frese said.
The Purple Eagles often played with a zone defense, freeing up space for Slocum and the rest of the outside shooters. Maryland shot a season-best 42.3 percent from 3-point range.
“It was easier when they were in a zone, so we had the good looks,” Slocum said. “We had good shooters on the outside and everyone was just knocking it down.”
Early on, though, the Terps’ defense sparked the team.
Maryland forced two turnovers and blocked a shot on Niagara’s first three possessions. It helped the Terps to an 8-0 lead.
“Defensively, we set the tone early. We were aggressive on that end of the floor,” Frese said. “We were kind of able to impose our will on them.”
Despite the strong start, Maryland couldn’t pull away from Niagara for most of the first half. The Terps’ lead hovered around 10 points in the first quarter and remained there until halfway through the second period.
That’s when Slocum took over.
With less than five minutes remaining in the half, Slocum scored 13 points in three minutes and 25 seconds, burying the Purple Eagles with a pair of 3-pointers and another three free throws when she drew a foul while shooting from beyond the arc.
The Meridian, Idaho, native scored 16 points in the second quarter and had five assists and four rebounds in the first half. Her 5-for-6 shooting performance in the second quarter was a big reason the Terps led, 58-32, at halftime.
“She’s dynamic,” Frese said. “She’s electric.”
Slocum added one more 3-pointer and a pair of rebounds in the third quarter before resting for the final 10 minutes. She scored 25 points while shooting 8 of 14 from the floor, 5 of 10 for three and, for the first time since the season-opener, stayed out of foul trouble and played 28 of the first 30 minutes.
“Coming out today, it was really important that the five of us that started came out and set the tone,” Slocum said.
Maryland’s other star guard, senior Shatori Walker-Kimbrough, also showed her scoring prowess Sunday, boosted by a 4 of 6 performance from 3-point range.
“We have a lot of great shooters on this team,” Frese said. “When you play some zone, we’re going to be able to knock down those shots. It’s the first game we’ve seen that much zone.”
Walker-Kimbrough finished with 16 points, three steals and four assists. Like Slocum, Walker-Kimbrough didn’t play in the fourth quarter.
In the first half, the team did most of its damage without center Brionna Jones. Jones, who had combined for 35 points in the past two games, had two layups and an assist on the game’s first three baskets.
But she committed two fouls soon after and played four minutes in the first half.
So unlike in Friday’s win when cold shooting early forced the Terps to feed the ball to Jones inside, the team looked outside for its scoring against Niagara.
That plan, combined with Niagara’s zone, gave Slocum the opportunity to deliver the best performance of her rookie season.
“She’s a high-energy player,” Frese said. “She was sensational today.”
CORRECTION: Due to a reporting error, the story stated Slocum was from Ohio. She is from Idaho. The story has been updated to reflect this correction.
