On Friday, Maryam Dauda and Saylor Poffenbarger will face each other for the first time since they were teammates at Arkansas, and a trip to the Elite Eight is on the line.
Poffenbarger began her career at UConn, but only lasted a semester. She transferred to Arkansas for two seasons. In the offseason, the Maryland native transferred back to her hometown program.
Dauda was a major signing for the Razorbacks. She was an in-state McDonald’s All-American who chose to stay home.
Dauda redshirted her first season at Arkansas due to an injury, and Poffenbarger was sitting out as a transfer. They bonded as inactive players.
“We went through a lot together, and we were there to support each other because we both came in at the same time,” Dauda said. “We supported and uplifted each other when we were each down.”
Dauda was a reserve as a redshirt freshman and then emerged as a starter for her second season.
Last season, Poffenbarger and Dauda started beside each other in Arkansas’ frontcourt. Poffenbarger started 30 games and averaged 10.2 points and 11.2 rebounds and was second in the SEC in rebounding.
“We were good friends,” Poffenbarger said. “Throughout the process, we stayed in touch. We’ve talked. Being able to play her will be fun. That’s kind of what basketball is all about, building those relationships and they carry over. It will be exciting to see her.”
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Dauda started all 33 games and averaged 10.1 points and 6.3 rebounds. She averaged 2.2 blocks and led the SEC in blocks in conference games. Dauda has appeared in 30 games this season. She averages 2.0 points and 1.9 rebounds in six minutes a game.
Poffenbarger has started 17 of her 29 games this season and averages 26.7 minutes. She is Maryland’s leading rebounder at 7.3 per game and adds 9.2 points.
“Yeah, she’s the nicest person in the world. To know her is to love her,” Poffenbarger said.
Told what Poffenbarger said, Dauda beamed.
“I would say the same thing about her,” she said. “I am very proud of her. I couldn’t have imagined both of us leaving Arkansas and then making it to the Sweet 16.”
They hadn’t talked to each other leading up to the Sweet 16 game on Friday, honoring the informal no-contact policy players have before big games. But the two former Razorbacks will catch up at some point this weekend.
“Before we left we made sure to see each other,” Poffenbarger said. “We stayed in touch. I check on her, it’s not an everyday thing but we definitely built that relationship at Arkansas. We went through a lot at Arkansas together, so we’ll be close for a while.”
