During any given Washington Mystics practice, Kristi Toliver casts a shadow 5 inches taller than her, a shadow named Shatori Walker-Kimbrough.
āI call her āYoung Squire,ā ā Toliver said. āAt practice, she runs every day, we always get our shots in together, playing copycat.ā
In the WNBA, the two are separated by nearly a decade. Toliver is a 10-year veteran while Walker-Kimbrough was drafted in 2017, sixth overall.
Walker-Kimbrough quickly fell under Toliverās wing, joining the squad as a rookie as Toliver came in as a free agent from the Los Angeles Sparks. Both women, despite their generational cavern, knew what it was like to wear Terps red and gold for 16-year coach Brenda Frese.
āMaryland recruits the best. Itās nice to continue to play with the best, even if weāre from different generations, different years,ā Toliver said.

Even though Washington wasnāt forecast to be trophy contenders, the Mystics (13-9) entered Tuesday leading the Eastern Conference ā which couldnāt have been done without three Maryland graduates on the roster.
āThere is a unique bond, even though they havenāt played with each other [at Maryland]. It would have been incredible to see those three together [there],ā Frese said. āThere is this kind of kindred bond of former Terps that look out for each other and stick together.ā
Before Walker-Kimbrough, Toliver and Tianna Hawkins, there had only ever been three Maryland graduates on the Mystics ā let alone three at the same time ā despite the teamās close proximity to the schoolās campus. Five other Terps alumni dot the league ā Marissa Coleman (New York Liberty), Lynetta Kizer (Minnesota Lynx), Crystal Langhorne (Seattle Storm), Brionna Jones (Connecticut Sun) and Alyssa Thomas (Sun).
Mystics guard Natasha Cloud played briefly with the Terps before transferring to Saint Josephās (Pa.) after her freshman season. She played in 31 games with six starts for Maryland in the 2010-11 season, averaging 2.5 points and 1.5 rebounds per game while finishing third on the team in assists (62).
With such a heavy Terps influence in the professional scene, Frese blocks out home games on the Mystics schedule where she can manage an escape to watch her old players between recruiting and ājuggling twins.ā
āItās just phenomenal when you see all these Terps and alums on the court living out their dreams,ā Frese said.
After playing 27 games as a rookie, Walker-Kimbroughās subsequent season has been a little more sporadic. Though sheās shooting 43.6 percent from the field, sheās averaged just 8.8 minutes per game and has started only once. During last Wednesdayās game with the Atlanta Dream, she played one minute.
āCoaches choose the rotation and what he thinks is best for the game plan,ā she said, āand I continue just to stay ready whenever my numberās called.ā
Itās a lesson that, surprisingly, she learned next door.
A Baltimore native who grew up in Aliquippa, Pa., Walker-Kimbrough was Marylandās third-leading scorer in her freshman year and pivotal to leading the Terps to four NCAA tournament appearances and two Final Fours. In the 2015-16 season, she led the NCAA in 3-point percentage (.545), a Big Ten record, and is one of five Terps to score 2,000 career points.
For most players, thereād be some frustration that, after a season-and-a-half of professional play, she still hasn't become the leader sheād been at Maryland. But thatās not Walker-Kimbrough.

āI know over the course of my four years at Maryland I continued to get better each year,ā Walker-Kimbrough said, āand Iām just trying to continue that mindset, never stay complacent but always staying hungry.ā
Averaging 14 points per game, Toliver is already on track for a career-best year. But despite her numbers, and her veteran status, the 31-year-old Virginia native carries a near-identical mindset to her protege ā especially now that sheās started coaching, taking a trial run with the Washington Wizardsā summer league squad.
āAs much as I try to give my input, Iām learning at the same time from everybody,ā Toliver said. āItās been nice, with the back and forth.ā
Hawkins, who graduated after four years at Maryland in 2013, has played intermittently as a forward with the Mystics since 2014, and is gleeful to brush shoulders with former Terps.
āWeāre familiar faces, we know what itās like to be at Maryland,ā Hawkins said. āWe can reminisce on the Maryland days, talk about Coach B and stuff like that. ⦠Even though we didnāt play together, itās good to have that unity and family feel.ā
Hawkinsā summer with Washington is not dissimilar to her first at Maryland.
Thereās a resemblance to the 17-year old girl that stepped onto the Maryland court in 2009 with a little too much meat on her frame, nervous that she didnāt belong. Frese did not agree.
āShe was the first coach to believe in me,ā said Hawkins, who dropped more than 20 pounds from her freshman to her junior year at Maryland. āComing out of high school, the adversity I faced with her prepared me for the pros.ā
Hawkins took the baton from Toliver, who graduated the season before. By her junior year, she led the NCAA with a field goal percentage at .623. She was also drafted sixth overall, by the Storm.
After the birth of her son, Emanuel, Hawkins carried baby weight on the court in 2017. She spent the offseason revitalizing her body, especially at College Park, using the younger Terps as an impetus to drive her.

āItās a big piece of who we are,ā Frese said. āOur players come back and train when they have breaks. ⦠We have them in practice, we have them speak to the team, they always come back. Itās a great feeling when your alums come back to where they call home. Itās really special to be able to have.ā
Sheās averaging a career-high 7.2 points per game and spending more time on the court, up to a 17.7-minute average compared with her career average 12.8 minutes.
On top of focusing on herself, Hawkins sees herself as a mentor for Walker-Kimbrough as well, given their college ties.
āI stay in her ear. I pick her up when I feel like sheās slipping a little bit,ā Hawkins said. āBut Shatoriās been good. Sheās a professional.ā
As the Terpsā influence on the Mystics has tripled in the past year, thereās been an influx of Maryland fans ā self-titled āReboundersā ā in the seats at Capital One Arena. It hasnāt gone unnoticed with Walker-Kimbrough.
āNo matter how youāre playing, no matter if youāre playing, theyāre almost always supportive, and theyāre always there with a smile on your face and they greet you with a hug. Iām blessed to have them in my life,ā she said.
Frese and most of the 2018-19 Terps womenās basketball team traveled to Washington for the late June game against the Sun to witness five Maryland alumni on a professional court.
āThat relationship just doesnāt finish when they graduate from Maryland. Even theyāre no longer helping us get wins here, itās for life,ā Frese said.
But even when Frese isnāt physically within the walls of Capital One Arena, the bygone Terps know her presence is unwavering (and not just because she watches the games on her phone).
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āSheās only one call away, and she makes it known that sheās only one call away,ā Walker-Kimbrough said. āBasketball related, non-basketball related, she makes it known ⦠that sheās down the road.ā