Maryland women’s basketball guard Destiny Slocum was named National Freshman of the Year by the Women’s Basketball Coaches Association on Saturday in Dallas.
Center Brionna Jones and guard Shatori Walker-Kimbrough earned All-America Honorable Mention from the WBCA at its annual convention.
Slocum averaged six assists this season, the most of any freshman in the country. She added 11.5 points and more than a steal per game in her rookie campaign.
“This is certainly not an award I could receive myself,” Slocum said a release. “All of my family, teammates, coaches, former coaches helped me so much along the way. I am certainly blessed.”
The Meridian, Idaho, native played and started at point guard in all but one game for the Terps this season and shattered freshman records in 3-pointers (71) and assists (204).
Those 71 triples put Slocum 20th all-time at Maryland after just one season.
“Destiny has had an amazing start to her career this year,” coach Brenda Frese said. “The energy she plays with is contagious and it’s something the whole country has seen.”
Earlier this month, Slocum made national headlines with an overhead, three-quarter-court buzzer-beater in the Terps’ NCAA tournament second-round game against West Virginia, one of many long 3-pointers Slocum hit at the buzzer this season.
Meanwhile, the All-America honorable mention is the latest honor for Jones and Walker-Kimbrough, the team’s senior duo.
Jones averaged 19.9 points and 10.9 rebounds this year while racking up 25 double-doubles. She made 69 percent of her field goals, the highest rate in the country. The Havre de Grace native earned All-America honors from the USWBA, a spot on the AP first-team and a second-team nod from espnW.
Walker-Kimbrough scored 18.8 points for the Terps, shooting 45.0 percent from three-point range to finish her career as the most accurate (45.9 percent) long-distance shooter in Maryland history. She joined Jones on the USWBA and espnW teams and is a third-team AP All-American.
Maryland went 30-3 this season, winning the Big Ten regular season and tournament championships. The Terps season ended with a 77-63 loss to Oregon in the Sweet 16.