Maryland Terrapins
Overall Rank: #7
Conference Rank: #2 Big Ten
Maryland exited the NCAA Tournament much earlier than expected, but with Shatori Walker-Kimbrough and Brionna Jones returning, they will have another shot at it in 2016-2017. Walker-Kimbrough led the team with 19.5 points per game and added 6.0 rebounds and 3.3 assists. She is one of the best all-around scorers in the country and certainly one of the best shooters. Walker-Kimbrough connected on an amazing 54.5 percent of her three-point attempts. Jones is the inside force for Maryland, averaging 15.2 points and 9.8 rebounds during her junior campaign. She is a very consistent force in the paint and made 66.5 percent of her shots.
2015-16 Record: 31-4, 16-2
2015-16 Postseason: NCAA
Coach: Shay Robinson
Coach Record: 371-108 at Maryland, 428-138 overall
Key Departed Players (starters in bold)
Malina Howard, Center, 5.3 ppg
Chloe Pavlech, Guard, 2.3 ppg
Brene Moseley, Guard, 11.6 ppg
Tierney Pfirman, Forward, 9.1 ppg
Key Returning Players (starters in bold)
Shatori Walker-Kimbrough, Senior, Guard, 19.5 ppg
Brionna Jones, Senior, Center, 15.2 ppg
Kristen Confroy, Junior, Guard, 8.0 ppg
Kiah Gillespie, Sophomore, Forward, 5.1 ppg
Kiara Leslie, Junior, Guard, 4.4 ppg
Brianna Fraser, Sophomore, Forward, 4.0 ppg
Aja Ellison, Junior, Forward, 0.6 ppg
Key New Players
Kaila Charles, Freshman, Guard
Stephanie Jones, Freshman, Forward
Sarah Myers, Freshman, Guard
Destiny Slocum, Freshman, Guard
Ieshia Small Junior, Guard, Transfer from Baylor
Jenna Staiti, Freshman, Center
Blair Watson, Freshman, Guard
Projection
Kristen Confroy, Kiah Gillespie, Kiara Leslie and Brianna Fraser will look to play larger roles this year. Confroy is another very good outside shooter who, like Walker-Kimbrough, connected on 73 long balls last season. A superb recruiting class will help replace Malina Howard, Chloe Pavlech, Brene Moseley and Tierney Pfirman. Five of the incoming freshmen are ranked in the College Sports Madness top 50 recruits. That is an impressive class by any standard. The Terrapins also add Baylor transfer Ieshia Small. The 6-0 guard came to Baylor with much fanfare, but never really got a chance to show her stuff. With a fresh start, the former McDonald’s All-American could be in for a big season.
Projected Postseason Tournament: NCAA
By the Numbers:
Scoring Offense: 83.2 (5th in nation, 3rd in conference)
Scoring Defense: 60.3 (96, 2)
Field-Goal Percentage: 49.6 (2, 1)
Field-Goal Defense: 36.6 (37, 1)
Three-Point Field Goals Per Game: 6.5 (81, 5)
Three-Point Field-Goal Percentage: 40.2 (4, 1)
Free-Throw Percentage: 73.8 (44, 5)
Rebound Margin: 15.1 (1, 1)
Assists Per Game: 19.2 (5, 1)
Turnovers Per Game: 15.7 (157, 12)
Madness 2017 WNBA Draft Rankings:
#2 Brionna Jones
#6 Shatori Walker-Kimbrough
Madness 2016 Women’s Basketball Recruit Rankings:
#7 Destiny Slocum
#13 Kaila Charles
#32 Blair Watson
#40 Stephanie Jones
#42 Jenna Staiti
