Maryland women’s basketball set to use a committee approach to offset the losses of a pair of stars

As the final seconds dwindled on the scoreboard and Maryland women’s basketball fell to South Carolina in the 2023 Elite Eight, it was the last moments together the Terps shared on the court. 

That squad holds a different look entering the 2023-24 season.

WNBA first rounders Diamond Miller and Abby Meyers led Maryland last season. Miller averaged 19.7 points and 6.4 rebounds per game en route to a unanimous All-Big Ten first team selection and a second team All-American senior campaign. Meyers, a graduate transfer from Princeton, averaged 14.3 points in her lone year in College Park, earning herself All-Big Ten second team honors.

“Big shoes to have to fill,” coach Brenda Frese said.

Frese must grapple with replacing her top-two scorers from last season while competing in a competitive Big Ten and challenging out-of-conference schedule. But the challenge isn’t new for the veteran coach, now entering her 22nd campaign leading the Terps. 

Just last year, Maryland lost four of its top-five scoring contributors from the previous season. Frese re-tooled a roster that reached the Elite Eight for the first time in seven seasons.

Much of that supporting cast around Miller and Meyers is back this season, with a group that Frese believes will be played by committee. She’ll need consistency from her entire unit.

Junior Shyanne Sellers will be a key figure to lead the Terps’ committee approach. The 6-foot-2 guard broke out during her sophomore season, earning All-Big Ten first team and All-Big Ten Defensive Team honors. Frese expects defenses to primarily focus on Sellers after her breakout year, calling her “the hunted” this upcoming season.

“It just gives me an opportunity to get my teammates more involved,” Sellers said. “If they’re going to try to collapse on me a lot more, that means a lot more people are going to be open so I think it’s going to be a lot easier for everyone to get more baskets.”

Sellers’ supporting cast includes three returning graduate students. Guards Brinae Alexander and Lavender Briggs return to College Park with three-point shooting after connecting on 43.9 percent and 39.2 percent of three-point attempts, respectively, last season. And forward Faith Masonius will be back in Maryland’s lineup after starting in every game last year.

A fourth graduate student, N.C. State transfer Jakia Brown-Turner, enters College Park as a familiar face for Freese. She recruited Brown-Turner from Bishop McNamara High School alongside Miller, but was unsuccessful in nabbing her commitment. When given the opportunity to go after Brown-Turner through the transfer portal this offseason, Frese felt it was a “no-brainer.”

The 6-foot guard started 123 games for the Wolfpack over four years, averaging 10.3 points per game. There are high expectations within the Terps for Brown-Turner to replace some of Miller and Meyers’ scoring from a season ago. 

“I’m a scorer and I feel like wherever coach puts me, I’ll be able to contribute,” Brown-Turner said. “… This is a great environment, a welcoming, caring, and a winning environment.”

Redshirt junior Allie Kubek will also look to replace last year’s production with her own after averaging 14.6 points her sophomore year at Towson. The 6-foot-2 forward was on pace to make last season’s starting lineup after transferring to Maryland before the 2022-23 campaign but missed the entirety of the season after tearing her left ACL in the preseason.

Bri McDaniel will look to see an increased role for the Terps this year. The guard saw time in 34 of 35 games last season, averaging 9.3 minutes off the bench. Frese sees McDaniel having the same sophomore season improvements that Sellers displayed last year.

Beyond its returners, Maryland brings in a freshmen class that’s ranked the 11th-best in the country by ESPN. 

Five-star guard Riley Nelson headlines the group as the No. 17-ranked freshman by Blue Star Basketball. Nelson, a McDonald’s All-American and back-to-back Maryland Gatorade Player of the Year in 2022 and 2023, averaged 16.6 points and 10.9 rebounds as a senior at The Bullis School. 

Three-star guard Summer Bostock enters the campaign as a redshirt freshman after enrolling early in January to practice and work out with the team. Frese believes that the extra semester of work with the team will have Bostock well-accustomed to Maryland’s system. 

While Frese has been known for not relying on freshmen in their first season, she envisions this year’s class as “ready to go.” The tough non-conference schedule could hinder playing time for them early, but Nelson and Bostock may see more time as the season grows. 

“I think they have to be really good in practice, because you don’t have the history yet with them for what they’re going to do in these tight games that could possibly come down to possessions,” Frese said.

Despite the changing roster and last season’s leaders gone, Frese’s goal remains the same: Win the national championship.