Maria Gakdeng

Gakdeng was born in Atlanta, Georgia, to South Sudanese parents who fled the civil war in 1999. Her family moved to Lanham, Maryland, in 2011.{{cite news|url=https://www.voaafrica.com/a/maria-breaking-records/6876467.html|title=South Sudanese-American Dreams of WNBA Stardom|last=Biajo|first=Nabeel|date=December 17, 2022|publisher=VOA Africa|access-date=January 3, 2025}} She attended Archbishop Carroll High School in Washington, D.C., and New Hope Academy in Hyattsville, Maryland, where she was named second-team All-WCAC in her senior season.

Gakdeng debuted for the Boston College Eagles on November 9, 2021, starting in an 86–60 win against Harvard. On January 6, 2022, she scored a season-high 21 points in a 95–71 win against Syracuse. She scored 16 points and made a season-high 6 blocks in a 67–51 win against Duke on February 24. She appeared in all 33 games (32 starts) in her freshman season, finishing with a 8.9 points per game, grabbing a team-high 6.3 rebounds per game, and setting a program single-season record with 73 blocks.{{cite web|url=https://bceagles.com/sports/womens-basketball/roster/maria-gakdeng/14886|title=Maria Gakdeng|publisher=Boston College Eagles|access-date=January 3, 2025}}

Gakdeng set a new career high with 22 points in a 73–63 win against Wake Forest on February 26, 2023. She finished her sophomore season with team bests in cumulative scoring, rebounding, and blocking as she averaged 11.3 points, 6.5 rebounds, and 1.3 assist per game to go with 58 total blocks. After her sophomore season, she entered the NCAA transfer portal to join a team with championship potential, choosing North Carolina over other ACC options in Louisville and Notre Dame.{{cite news|url=https://tarheeltribune.com/2023/10/04/banghart-happily-succeeded-in-second-recruitment-of-tenacious-center-gakdeng/|title=Banghart happily succeeded in second recruitment of tenacious center Gakdeng|last=Bynum|first=R.L.|date=October 4, 2023|website=Tar Heel Tribune|access-date=January 3, 2025}}

Gakdeng made her North Carolina debut on November 8, 2023, scoring 13 points in a 102–49 season-opening win against Gardner–Webb. She recorded her first double-double for North Carolina with 14 points and 13 rebounds in a 76–64 loss to UConn on December 10. She scored 17 points and grabbed 10 rebounds in a 59–56 win against Michigan State in the first round of the NCAA tournament, before falling to eventual champions South Carolina in the second round. She averaged 9.2 points, 5.9 rebounds, and 1.6 blocks per game in her junior season.{{cite web|url=https://goheels.com/sports/womens-basketball/roster/maria-gakdeng/25690|title=Maria Gakdeng|publisher=North Carolina Tar Heels|access-date=January 3, 2025}}{{cite news|url=https://keepingitheel.com/maria-gakdeng-set-to-protect-the-rim-once-again-for-the-unc-women-s-basketball-team|title=Maria Gakdeng set to protect the rim once again for the UNC women's basketball team|last=Delahanty|first=Nick|date=October 27, 2024|website=Keeping It Heel|access-date=January 3, 2025}}

On March 2, 2025, Gakdeng set a new career high with 25 points in a 78–75 loss to Virginia. She helped North Carolina earn a three seed in the NCAA tournament, hosting tournament games at home for the first time in ten years, and they reached the third round.{{cite news|url=https://247sports.com/college/north-carolina/article/unc-wbb-earns-no-3-seed-hosting-for-first-time-in-10-years-247162834/|title=UNC WBB Earns No. 3 Seed, Hosting For First Time In 10 Years|last=Holloway|first=Jeremiah|date=2025-05-16|website=247Sports|access-date=2025-04-14}} Gakdeng finished her senior season averaging 10.8 points, 7.6 rebounds, and 1.1 blocks per game, earning second-team All-ACC honors.

On April 15, 2025, the day after going unselected in the 2025 WNBA draft, Gakdeng received an invitation to training camp with the Atlanta Dream.{{cite Instagram|postid=DId_26bxB-O|title=Congratulations to @mariiaa.teresa on inking a training camp deal with @atlantadream for the 2025 WNBA season 🏀🔥|date=2025-04-15|user=thefamsports|author=The Fam|access-date=2025-04-15}} On May 8, she was waived by the Dream.{{Cite web |last=Atlanta Dream |date=May 8, 2025 |title=The Atlanta Dream have waived forward Maria Gakdeng and guard Emani Jefferson. |url=https://x.com/AtlantaDream/status/1920547023968698737 |access-date=May 9, 2025 |website=Twitter}}

{{WNBA player statistics legend}}

{{WNBA player statistics start}}

|-

| style="text-align:left;"| 2021–22

| style="text-align:left;"| Boston College

|33||32||25.5||58.3||0.0||57.6||6.3||0.8||0.8||2.2||2.5||8.9

|-

| style="text-align:left;"| 2022–23

| style="text-align:left;"| Boston College

|33||33||29.6||57.8||0.0||53.8||6.5||1.3||0.7||1.8||2.9||11.3

|-

| style="text-align:left;"| 2023–24

| style="text-align:left;"| UNC

|33||32||23.9||62.6||0.0||62.0||5.9||0.5||0.5||1.5||1.5||9.2

|-

| style="text-align:left;"| 2024–25

| style="text-align:left;"| UNC

|33||33||25.4||58.7||0.0||65.2||7.6||0.8||0.8||1.1||1.7||10.8

|- class="sortbottom"

|style="text-align:center;" colspan="2"|Career

|132||130||26.1||59.2||0.0||59.6||6.6||0.9||0.7||1.7||2.1||10.1

|- class="sortbottom"

|style="text-align:center;" colspan="14"|Statistics retrieved from Sports-Reference.{{cite web|url=https://www.sports-reference.com/cbb/players/maria-gakdeng-1.html|title=Maria Gakdeng College Stats|publisher=Sports-Reference|accessdate=April 2, 2025}}

{{S-end}}

{{Reflist}}

• [https://goheels.com/sports/womens-basketball/roster/maria-gakdeng/25690 North Carolina Tar Heels bio]

{{DEFAULTSORT:Gakdeng, Maria}}

Category:2003 births

Category:Living people

Category:21st-century American sportswomen

Category:American people of South Sudanese descent

Category:American women's basketball players

Category:Basketball players from Maryland

Category:Boston College Eagles women's basketball players

Category:Centers (basketball)

Category:North Carolina Tar Heels women's basketball players

Category:People from Lanham, Maryland