Diamond Miller showed us her best Dirk Nowitzki impression.
Diamond Miller silenced the crowd in South Bend, Indiana and any critics she or the Maryland Terrapins might have had Thursday night.
With 15 seconds left in one of the final ACC/Big Ten Challenge games, No. 20 Maryland was tied 72-72 on the road with No. 7 Notre Dame. The Terps had the ball, and quite a bit was on the line for them.
Maryland tumbled six spots in the most recent AP Top 25 Poll after losing to unranked DePaul. Another defeat could have bounced them from the national ranking – and Maryland has been ranked in every single AP Top 25 Poll since 2011. It’s the third-longest streak in the country behind UConn and Baylor.
But Maryland wouldn’t falter again. They put the ball in the hands of their best playmaker – someone who is likely to be a top five WNBA Draft pick this spring.
Shyanne Sellers dribbled a bit, then gave the ball up to Miller just inside the top of the key. After bobbling it, Miller settled, took six dribbles as she drove to her left, pulled up off a crossover, leaned back on her left leg and let the ball fly.
Swish. Buzzer. Game. Terps.
It looked like Miller pulled the move straight out of Dirk Nowitzki’s highlight reel. Even Maryland native Kevin Durant thought it was wildly impressive.
Maryland improved to 7-2 with the victory, and the Terps got their second win of the season over a ranked opponent. Miller had a double-double in that game too, a win over Baylor.
It was the first time Maryland had beaten a top 10 team on the road since 2016, when they topped then-No. 7 Louisville. For Notre Dame, it was the Irish’s first loss of the season.
“At that point, we knew the ball was going to go to Diamond, who had the hot hand,” Maryland coach Brenda Frese said after the game. “She executed it to perfection.”
The historic win for Maryland was made possible by Miller, who finished with 31 points, 12 boards and five assists – leading the Terps in each category.
“I just wanted to take the last shot. I didn’t want them to get another possession,” Miller said. “I just kind of got to my spot and shot it… This is what we do at Maryland. You come here to play in these big-time games.”
Under Frese, Maryland now has 26 wins over AP top 10 teams.
Miller was flattered to get a shoutout from Durant on Twitter. When she was asked about it, she took the opportunity to make a simple point: If folks want to see more ballers like her and more fun finishes like this, they should watch more women’s basketball.
“That is really, really cool. Wow. That is something I have to process later. The fact that he’s in the NBA and that he supports women’s basketball is really huge,” Miller said. “We’re just going to keep growing the game and people need to watch us because we all can ball and we all are talented. Just because we’re women doesn’t mean we’re less than any man.”
Maryland lost three starters from last season’s team to the transfer portal this past offseason. Frese then rebuilt the roster around Miller. This game showed that as long as Miller is healthy, folks shouldn’t overlook the Terps when considering contenders.
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