By: Joe Pohoryles<\/p>\n
Maren Durant knows how to deliver in the clutch.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n As the 2019-20 Boston University women\u2019s basketball season wound down, the Terriers found themselves trailing the Lehigh Mountain Hawks 47-46 with 10 seconds left on Feb. 26.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n The Terriers had the ball for the last shot, where the six-foot-three Durant was fouled with 0.8 seconds remaining. The only way to secure a victory was to nail both foul shots; the game now rested solely in Durant\u2019s hands.<\/span><\/p>\n The pressure would be enough to rattle a senior, let alone a freshman like Durant. But she did not waver, stepping up and hitting both shots to give the Terriers a 48-47 victory. <\/span><\/p>\n \u201cI knew I\u2019ve done it before,\u201d Durant said after the game, \u201cso I just really tried to lock in.\u201d<\/span><\/p>\n Despite entering college without many expectations, Durant blossomed into one of the Terriers\u2019 top players. After being named to the Patriot League\u2019s All-Rookie and All-Defensive teams last season, Durant will be a centerpiece for a BU team looking to reach greater heights.<\/span><\/p>\n \u201cI think she\u2019s gonna help us all around because she\u2019s such a presence and such a hard guard,\u201d BU head coach Marisa Moseley said.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n Shortly after BU wrapped up the regular season and defeated American University to move on to the Patriot League semifinals, the COVID-19 pandemic forced the cancelation of the rest of the season.<\/span><\/p>\n Out of nowhere, Durant found herself back home in Winchester, Massachusetts for the summer, preparing for an uncertain sophomore season. Durant tried to focus on her offensive game, but with limited access to local hoops, she had to get creative when working on other aspects. Mental toughness was one of the biggest focal points.<\/span><\/p>\n \u201cAt certain points over quarantine, I had to make the active decision to be disciplined rather than being motivated,\u201d Durant said, \u201cI was thinking, \u2018I have to do this extra rep, this extra set.\u2019\u201d<\/span><\/p>\n With the college basketball season slated to begin in late November, Moseley is excited to see how Durant will impact the team this season. <\/span>Before starting her head coaching career at BU in 2018, Moseley spent nine years working with All-Americans and future WNBA players as an assistant at UConn. But Durant\u2019s work ethic and energy stands out from the rest.<\/span><\/p>\n \u201c[Durant] is the most high-energy kid I think I\u2019ve ever coached,\u201d Moseley said, \u201cHer internal motor and approach to wanting to be great\u2026 is second to none.\u201d<\/span><\/p>\n Moseley also credits Durant as being the \u201cquintessential teammate\u201d who can help bring the team together. For Durant, her work ethic and leadership qualities were instilled long before she set foot on BU\u2019s campus. <\/span>Durant played four years of varsity basketball for The Rivers School in Weston, where she earned numerous All-Star honors. She also played volleyball, and even served as class co-president.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n Durant believes juggling the responsibilities of playing sports at a high level, while also participating in student government, helped prepare her for life both on and off the court.<\/span><\/p>\n \u201cIt boosted my skill set in terms of working with different people\u2026 It gave me the confidence in following up on initiatives that I was trying to push forward, which is really something I had never done before,\u201d Durant said.<\/span><\/p>\n Durant plans to use those skills in the medical field. She says her seventh grade biology teacher sparked her interest in math and science, and a history of doctors in her family made Sargent College seem like the perfect fit.<\/span><\/p>\n While basketball and academics dominate most of her schedule, Durant likes to explore the city in her free time. She took up walking to stay active over the summer, and now enjoys taking in the fresh air on the esplanade. A self-described music junkie, Durant listens to everything from Vivaldi to Kanye West, especially when looking to motivate herself before a game.<\/span><\/p>\n That motivation will come in handy, as Durant and the Terriers will face unprecedented challenges this season. But if anyone has proven that they can deliver with their back against the wall, it\u2019s Durant.<\/span><\/p>\n \u201c2020 has been such a crazy year, but right now, we have the opportunity to still do something great\u2026 We still have really high aspirations even though it might just not be the same as years prior,\u201d Durant said.<\/span><\/p>\n Featured image courtesy of Perry Sosi.<\/em><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":" By: Joe Pohoryles Maren Durant knows how to deliver in the clutch.\u00a0 As the 2019-20 Boston University women\u2019s basketball season wound down, the Terriers found themselves trailing the Lehigh Mountain Hawks 47-46 with 10 seconds left on Feb. 26.\u00a0 The Terriers had the ball for the last shot, where the six-foot-three Durant was fouled with […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":20928,"featured_media":24502,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":[],"categories":[19,1040],"tags":[1629],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/sites.bu.edu\/wtbu\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/24501"}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/sites.bu.edu\/wtbu\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/sites.bu.edu\/wtbu\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/sites.bu.edu\/wtbu\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/20928"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/sites.bu.edu\/wtbu\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=24501"}],"version-history":[{"count":4,"href":"https:\/\/sites.bu.edu\/wtbu\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/24501\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":24506,"href":"https:\/\/sites.bu.edu\/wtbu\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/24501\/revisions\/24506"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/sites.bu.edu\/wtbu\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/24502"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/sites.bu.edu\/wtbu\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=24501"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/sites.bu.edu\/wtbu\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=24501"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/sites.bu.edu\/wtbu\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=24501"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}