Against the sunlit backdrop near the Munday Library on the St. Edwards campus, her smile was almost blinding. Her demeanor seems to be at a constant cool and her voice is lovely to hear, even with a slight Chicago accent.

However, at 5 feet 10 inches and guard that averaged 11.8 points a game, don’t mistake Maryam Wilcher of the St. Edward’s women’s basketball team for just another nice girl on campus.  

She’s proven herself to be an effective shooting guard and an asset to her team. At 21 years old, she has accomplished a great deal in her basketball career and has no plans to slow down after SEU.

“My dream would be to keep playing overseas,” Wilcher said. “I’d love to play in Australia or Spain.”

Because she averages the most free throws at three per game and she was the second leading scorer this season, this may not be hard for her to do. She hails from the Windy City but was born in Skokie, Illinois to her mother Joanna Connor – a Chicago based blues singer-songwriter.

Wilcher tried clarinet and even saxophone, but was never really bit by the music bug like her mother. She explained on her way to community service that as long as she can remember basketball has always been her passion.

When deciding to take her sport seriously for the first time in seventh grade, she cites her older brother, Jovaughn, as her inspiration. “I remember watching him and seeing him play and thinking I wanna do that,” Wilcher said.

Taking her dream in her own hands, she joined an Amateur Athletic Union basketball team called the Silver Streak in the eighth grade.

Outgrowing that team, she then moved on to the Chicago Hoops Express under head coach Jerald Davis and grew enough as a player there to eventually become a three-year varsity starter at Morton West High School, scoring over 1,000 points in her high school career.

She even became a 2014-15 Chicago Tribune All-State selection. Thanks in no small part to her average 22.6 points, eight rebounds, five blocks, five assists and two steals per game — not to mention her floor percent of 46.6 as a junior.

After all of this, she eventually made her way to Indiana State University where, although she performed well on the court, she described her situation as less than ideal.

“There was just no chemistry,” she stated. “There was none between me and the coaches or me and the team.”  

The Windy City eventually blew her down to Texas where she noticed her situation here was the exact opposite.

“The coaches are way more personable, I get along better with everyone and it’s just a better overall situation,” Wilcher said.

The team stats would agree with her as the lady Hilltoppers advanced to the semifinals and closed their 2018-2019 season with a 16-14 record. In fact, Welcher’s impressive year with the Hilltoppers led to her All-Heartland Conference honorable mention selection.

Against the backdrop of a promising future, her smile seemed only outshined by her outlook for her upcoming senior season. Her demeanor was only slightly more excited than it was cool as she whisked away to prepare for another winning season on the Hilltop, knowing that her self-determined path is one destined for basketball greatness.