Maryland Athletics 2022 Hall of Fame Spotlight: Kristi Toliver

As most Terp fans know quite well, Kristi Toliver, now a Class of 2022 Maryland Athletics Hall of Fame inductee, hit the biggest shot in Maryland women's basketball history. 

Her game-tying three-pointer with just six seconds remaining forced overtime against Duke in the 2006 National Championship game. The Terps, of course, went on to win that game for the first title in program history, and, as a result, Toliver's name will forever remain synonymous with that shot and the championship. 

What most Maryland fans might not know, however, is that Toliver's journey to take and make that program-altering shot started as just a freshman approximately four months beforehand—during the Terps' Thanksgiving weekend matchup in the U.S. Virgin Islands against the No. 2 Tennessee Volunteers and Candace Parker. 

As Toliver recalls, no one expected them to keep it close against the highly-touted Volunteers. However, Maryland had a chance late to tie or take the lead with the ball in Toliver's hands—a common theme for the Terps even though Toliver was less than two months into her collegiate career.

"It was like she wasn't a freshman," former teammate and 2021 Maryland Athletics Hall of Fame inductee Crystal Langhorne said. "She was our starting point guard, she was ready to lead a team with players that were older than her. She just always had this low-key kind of swag to her, to her game, to how she was. She was a very calm and composed freshman."

Ultimately, Toliver passed instead of taking a shot herself, and the Terps fell 80-75. That decision did not sit right with Toliver.

"In my mind, I instantly was like 'You deferred. You're a gamer, scoring is what you do, but you deferred.' I couldn't stop thinking about that game."

Fast forward to April 4, 2006, and Toliver found herself in a similar position as the Terps were down by three to Duke in the title game with just six seconds left on the clock.

This time, Toliver knew what she had to do.

"I was not going to defer," Toliver said. "That was the only message I had in my mind. I had already failed and I was not doing that again. I was pulling."

The play wasn't drawn up for Toliver to take the shot. She and Langhorne read the defense, and Toliver eventually pulled up from behind the arc. But it wasn't just any jumper—Toliver, listed at 5-foot-7, hoisted her shot over Duke's six-foot-7 center Alison Bales.

Nothing but the bottom of the net.

"KT just hits big shots," Langhorne said. "That's just what she does and that one was probably the biggest of her entire career. The fact that she even had the guts to take that shot over a 6-foot-7 player just tells you what kind of player she was."

Even though the play wasn't necessarily drawn up for Toliver to shoot, her confidence and consistent work ethic gave the coaching staff the belief that Toliver would make the right play in that situation. 

"Years and years of reps in the basement and gyms made it possible for Kristi to get that shot off over a 6-foot-7 defender with their hands gently grazing on the follow-through," head coach Brenda Frese said. "I love when you see the photo of the aftermath, Kristi is still focused on the moment, with her arms spread, while pandemonium is ensuing around her. I think it's one of the greatest sports moments I've ever seen captured. Basketball fans know Kristi Toliver was built for those big shot moments. She's done it over and over again in her career and those of us that know her just expect every shot to go in. There's nobody a coach would rather have take those shots with the game on the line."

"It's absolutely awesome that all the coaches were like, 'Who do we want to have the ball in this situation?' And the answer was KT," Toliver added. "But it's because they knew my grind, they knew my grit. They probably knew me better than I knew myself at that point."

Toliver has always had a knack for the spotlight. 

"The bigger the stage, the bigger the opportunity, the bigger I want to be," Toliver said.

Bringing home the first championship in program history and helping to officially establish Maryland as one of the nation's premier women's basketball institutions is not something Toliver takes lightly. Toliver, a surfer herself, offers a surfing analogy to illustrate what the title meant. 

"Momentum is like a wave," Toliver said. "I feel like that moment was like if you're going to Peahi (in Hawaii) or the Azores (in Portugal). You talk about big wave surfing, that was a big wave surfing moment. That was the momentum we wanted to have for our program."

And while "The Shot" is what Toliver is most remembered for at Maryland, her final three years as a Terp were filled with just as much success.

Toliver finished her Maryland career as a two-time WBCA and USBWA All-American, a three-time All-ACC selection, and the 2009 ACC Player of the Year. She also set the program record with 300 career three-pointers and finished as the all-time leader in three-point percentage (.408), where she currently stands fourth. Furthermore, she still ranks first all-time in free throw percentage (.866), career assists (751), and assists in a season (275). 

But even with all those accolades and the shot, the people she met along the way are what stand out when Toliver looks back at her time as a Terp.

"When you decide to go to a university, you don't know what's going to happen because you're just a kid," Toliver said. "You're hoping for the best, but, in my experience, I was actually surrounded by the best. It all worked out and I'm just so thankful that I met so many amazing people that helped form me to be me."

"It's all about the people for me and, at Maryland, I had the best people," she added. "I was engulfed by selfless people who were all about the greater good and everyone was in it together."

After Maryland, Toliver's legacy continued to grow even more. 

She was selected third overall in the 2009 WNBA draft by the Chicago Sky and has played 14 seasons in the WNBA. The three-time WNBA all-star is back with the Los Angeles Sparks, the same team she won a WNBA title with in 2016. Toliver also won the 2019 WNBA championship with the Washington Mystics and was named the 2012 WNBA Most Improved Player. 

As if Toliver's list of accomplishments wasn't long enough, she also decided to try her hand at coaching. Not just any coaching, but coaching in the NBA while she remains a WNBA player. 

In October 2018, Toliver officially joined the Washington Wizards before moving on to the Dallas Mavericks in August 2021. With those moves, Toliver became the first active WNBA player on an NBA coaching staff and one of only a handful of women to be NBA coaches overall. 

"I'm figuring it out as I go along," Toliver said of her young coaching career. "I'm not acting like I have all the answers. I always want to be the dumbest person in the room, so I'm always looking to surround myself with the smartest people. I think that's why I've been successful at this level because I'm not afraid to ask questions."

Lately, Toliver has become more mindful of her role as a trailblazer for female coaches in men's leagues. 

"I've been a little more conscious about it recently, but before it was just kind of like, basketball is what I do. I love the game so much and I wanted to keep learning more about it and also sharing my knowledge with others, so that was kinda my initial mindset going into coaching."

Toliver admits that the grind of jumping right from playing an entire WNBA season to coaching in the world's largest professional basketball league is a difficult one. However, she also wouldn't have it any other way.

"I've given my life to the game. I've sacrificed, I've dedicated everything I had. And I really don't have many complaints. I'm so happy with where it's taken me."

For Frese, none of Toliver's coaching success comes as a surprise. 

"Kristi always had an analytical mind," Frese said. "I'm not surprised at all by her success as a coach. She was hired to work with the world's best basketball players, in the world's best basketball league. Doesn't that say it all? I take great pride in the trail she's blazing as one of the first women to get a chance to do it. What I embrace even more is that she is there on merit. She wasn't just hired because she's a female. It goes without saying that what she's doing should help others be considered in the future."

Toliver is soaking up every moment of her NBA coaching experience, but her ultimate coaching goal goes beyond that. 

"I want to coach women's basketball because, women, we're the absolute best," she said. "Best basketball in the world."

Later this week, Toliver will add to her impressive list of accomplishments with her induction into the Maryland Athletics Hall of Fame. Few people are more deserving. 

"Back in April of 2006, Kristi was just an innocent, wide-eyed freshman from little old Harrisonburg, Virginia, but on our game's biggest stage, she etched her name into the hearts of the Maryland faithful forever," Frese said. "I'm thrilled for Kristi and her family to receive this honor. This induction is truly deserved for them. They were and still are of immense importance to our program. Everybody knows what Kristi has accomplished on the court. She is a true Maryland legend."

"To be a Hall of Famer, that's [freaking] cool," Toliver said. "I'm always a person of limited words, but I still haven't been able to really know what to say about this, even now. It's such an honor and it's such a privilege. I'm just really, really thankful."