Graduate student forward and transfer Maren Durant traded in her red and white Boston University jersey for a buff and blue one and has been practicing since June with the rest of the women’s basketball team in preparation for her first season. 

Durant built an impressive resume during her time at Boston University, becoming the first BU women’s basketball player to earn conference honors three times as well as tying the program’s all-time career field goal percentage record and finishing second in career blocks with 172. In her senior year with the Terriers, she was named the Patriot League’s inaugural Preseason Defensive Player of the Year and finished the season second on the team with eight rebounds per game, 1.47 blocks per game and a .524 field goal percentage.

Wanting to continue pursuing higher education after graduation while playing basketball, Durant chose GW. 

“So after my last school, I really just wanted a new experience,” Durant said. “But I knew that I loved being in a city with lots of different people and different opportunities. And so GW just seemed like the perfect fit, and it has been so far.”

Durant was always tall growing up and her father encouraged her to start playing basketball in her hometown of Winchester, Massachusetts, in the third grade. Durant, who now stands at 6’3”, uses her height, along with her strong, physical playing style, to dominate her opponents down low.

Physicality aside, Durant holds a deep passion for basketball and continues to carry it over from her previous program into her new one.

“Both have been really loving, passionate groups of people who just want to compete and play basketball,” Durant said of BU and GW. “So I was happy that carried over from my last experience.” 

Head Coach Caroline McCombs said the addition of Durant to the team this season and the skillset she brings from her time playing for the Terriers will benefit her squad through her years of strong defensive experience and ability to dominate the court with her presence.  

“Maren has been a tremendous presence for us inside,” McCombs said. “She runs the floor extremely well. She’s got great length, and so is able to protect the rim. So we’re really excited about Maren.”

Durant’s defensive prowess is expected to pair nicely with the down-low dominance of graduate student forward Mayowa Taiwo, who earned A-10 all-defense honors last season. Taiwo, who averaged 9.7 rebounds per game last season, was the cornerstone of GW’s system, anchoring the Revs on defense while bullying smaller defenders for easy scores on the other end of the floor. McCombs said she is excited to see Durant and Taiwo partner up, as both have a strong paint presence and have a pension for pulling down rebounds.

“I think that’s a really good dynamic situation for us to have, right?” McCombs said. “Mayowa will probably allow her to score a little bit more against a smaller player versus just the other team center that she’s usually been matched up and allow her to get rebounds.” 

Durant has been finding her groove as a Rev since the summer and said she has enjoyed acclimating herself to the GW community with her teammates through team bonding and traveling. 

The team traveled around Europe for 10 days this past summer, where they served as ambassadors for the University and the sport of basketball, playing several games against European teams while bonding and sharing new experiences together as a team. 

“Being with this new group has been awesome,” Durant said. “Everyone has welcomed me with open arms even though, I mean, I’ve only been here since June. But I feel like I’ve known this team for much longer than that. I’d say definite highlight so far has been our foreign tour to Italy and Greece. I mean, that’s just a once-in-a-lifetime experience.”

While the Revs welcome Durant as well as graduate student guard Madison Buford, they also return the majority of last year’s core, with graduate student guard Nya Lok, graduate student guard Essence Brown, senior guard Asjah Inniss and graduate student forward Faith Blethen all returning to the squad. These returners have a history of being dynamic contributors, and the addition of Durant to the squad adds a formidable front court presence to an already deep and experienced GW team that will be on a mission to make noise in March.