Maylana was a High School All-American at Perris in Riverside County where she also competed in volleyball and track & field. The 6-2 Martin was a multi-time All-CIF and All-State player, who finished among the top ten all-time in California State scoring and rebounding. She twice played internationally for the USA, winning a gold medal in the 1997 U19 Junior World Championship competition in Brazil.

She went to UCLA and became a Kodak All-American, Pac-10 Player of the Year (1999), and a four-time All-Conference player. She led the Bruins to their best NCAA season in history, reaching the Elite 8 in 1999. She scored over 2000 points in her Bruin career, and then became the first round WNBA selection by Minnesota (10th overall in 2000). After playing in the WNBA, she was an assistant coach for UCLA, Pepperdine and Portland. She is currently a TV analyst for ESPN and the Pac-12 Network. She has been inducted into the UCLA Athletics Hall of Fame (2013). She is married to former USC football standout Rome Douglas.