Maryland’s Laurin Mincy selected by New York Liberty in WNBA draft

Guard Laurin Mincy drives toward the baseline during the Terps’ 65-34 win over Penn State at Xfinity Center on Feb. 23, 2014.

Laurin Mincy settled in at her best friend’s house in Odenton on Thursday to watch the WNBA draft. With her parents on the phone with her for nearly three hours, the former Terrapins women’s basketball guard sat patiently until her name appeared.

Then came the hugs. Friends jumped on top of her. Mincy’s parents cried on the other end of the line. It was a moment she had not only been waiting for all night, but also since she was a young girl towering over her peers.

The New York Liberty selected Mincy with the 27th overall pick in the third round of the draft. She becomes the fifth Terps player in the past four years to be selected.

“It was just a sigh of relief,” Mincy said. “Obviously, this was probably one of the most unpredictable drafts in a while. You didn’t know where anyone was going to end up.”

Mincy, who finished second in program history in games played, grew up watching the Liberty. As a Newark, New Jersey, native, the contests were just a 15-minute train ride away.

In elementary school, Mincy’s dad would take her and her stepsister to matchups. As a season ticketholder for multiple years, Mincy remembers sitting underneath the basket near the Liberty bench.

“I was like a kid in candy store,” Mincy said.

But soon, Mincy’s young career engulfed the summers she used to spend watching the games.

When high school came around, Mincy started to realize how serious her passion for the game was getting, and the accolades began pouring in. After earning the 2009 Gatorade New Jersey Player of the Year award and playing in the 2010 McDonald’s All-American Game, Mincy cemented herself among the top recruits in the country despite missing her senior season to an ACL tear.

“Once I got to high school, I realized my potential,” Mincy said.

The 6-footer spurned an offer to join powerhouse Connecticut and headed south to play for coach Brenda Frese and the Terps. After a pair of strong seasons, Mincy suffered her second torn ACL five games into her junior campaign.

While another season-ending injury might have deterred other players, Mincy knew she could come back again. She overcame the sleepless nights and the frequent knee pain to return for two more seasons with the Terps.

“Mentally, you have to get yourself back to a mindset that you are going to be fine and that you are going to get back to that player that you once were,” Mincy said.

Now, after helping the Terps reach back-to-back Final Fours for the first time in program history, she will have an opportunity to play close to home, to compete in front of the friends and family that couldn’t make the trip to her games with the Terps.

And she’ll get the chance to suit up for the team she grew up watching from the stands as a little kid.

“In high school, I realized, ‘Hey, I’m really good at this. This is something that I could pursue as a career,’” Mincy said. “Those goals and the aspirations came true tonight.”