Former Maryland women’s basketball guard Brene Moseley spent Thursday night watching the WNBA draft at her brother’s house about 15 minutes away from this university.
But during a commercial, she took her eyes off the television and stared at her cell phone, which was blowing up with congratulatory messages. Amidst all the texts about her selection, no one mentioned the team who drafted her. She was in the dark, and she didn’t even have a guess as to where her basketball career was headed next.
So Moseley, watching with her family and friends, was relieved to find out a minute or two later that the Indiana Fever had selected her with the 21st overall pick in the draft. It’s a dream the Burtonsville native said she’s had since elementary school.
“I’m overwhelmed, honestly,” Moseley said.
Moseley’s selection in the second round marks the sixth time a Terps player has been drafted in the past five years. The New York Liberty drafted former guard Laurin Mincy in the third round last season and took Alyssa Thomas fourth overall in 2014 before trading her to the Connecticut Sun.
Former guard Marissa Coleman and center Lynetta Kizer were drafted in 2009 and 2012, respectively, and both currently play for the Fever, who advanced to the 2015 WNBA Finals.
“That’s a dream come true,” Moseley said about the possibility of playing with former Terps. “They’re like big sisters to me.”
Despite coming off the bench, Moseley led the team in assists per game (5.9) and finished third in average scoring at 11.6 points per contest. She became the 32nd player in program history to score 1,000-career points when she eclipsed the total in this year’s Big Ten Tournament. For her career, the 5-foot-7 floor general played in 142 career games, two shy of the program record Coleman set when she played from 2005 to 2009.
A highly touted recruit out of Paint Branch High School, Moseley played in all 36 games her freshman campaign in 2012. She tore her ACL for the second time in a team scrimmage that October, though, forcing her to redshirt the next year.
She made solid contributions the next two seasons after returning to full health, but her breakout year came during her last go around in College Park. Former point guard Lexie Brown transferred to Duke last offseason to be closer to home, leaving Moseley and former guard Chloe Pavlech to battle it out for the point guard spot.
Pavlech adopted the starting role, but Moseley provided a spark off the bench. Her production earned the Burtonsville native the Big Ten’s Sixth Player of the Year award. She was also one of five finalists for the Nancy Lieberman Award given the nation’s top point guard.
While Moseley wasn’t sure if any of the teams would draft her, Terps coach Brenda Frese told her former point guard to stay prepared for the opportunity. After all, WNBA.com had her and former center Malina Howard as two of 50 notable prospects that had a chance to hear their name Thursday night.
Moseley wasn’t one of those players, at least not in real time, but she’s fulfilled a lifelong aspiration nonetheless.
