With a retooled roster, Maryland women’s basketball had its best season in eight years

By: Bode Ramsey and Sam Jane

Last September, 13 Maryland women’s basketball players piled into various cars, with different personalities, dispositions and stories all mixed together. Despite their differences, they all were headed to the same destination: A reserved woodland in Virginia. 

The problem was that they barely knew each other. With nine new faces — five transfers and four freshmen — the Terps only knew their teammates from the rigid schedule of offseason training.

Which is why coach Brenda Frese wanted them to connect on a weekend retreat to Shenandoah Valley. While Frese saw her new roster connecting through childlike games, the chemistry built two-and-a-half hours away from College Park was hidden from the public.

That is why there were larger questions about the program as a whole entering the 2022-23 season. Maryland had been dealt a violent blow in the offseason, as a roster that had just made the Sweet 16 dissipated in a flash.

Two of Freese’s stars — Angel Reese and Ashley Owusu — jumped ship into the transfer portal as a total of seven players from that Sweet 16 group either transferred or graduated, putting a spotlight on Frese’s ability to keep her recruits in College Park.

Those departures left only three players remaining who received meaningful minutes with the program — Diamond Miller, Shyanne Sellers and Faith Masonius. Frese had to rebuild the program from nearly the ground up as a result.

Frese brought in Abby Meyers, Brinae Alexander, Lavender Briggs and Elisa Pinzan from the transfer portal, alongside the new group of freshmen that entered the program. The coaching staff turned almost the entire roster over, possibly leaving concerns about the stability of the program in the near and distant future. 

But the 2022-23 season left no concerns on the ability of Frese as a coach. She led a group made up of almost entirely new faces to a 28-7 record and the program’s first Elite Eight appearance since the 2014-15 campaign. 

“Nobody expected this team to be anywhere near an Elite Eight,” Frese said, “some questioned whether they were even going to make the tournament. Because these guys believed and stayed the course you were able to see some pretty magical things.”

When Maryland was down 20-plus points to South Carolina in the second game of the season, along with an early-season loss to Depaul, it was difficult to see the pieces of the puzzle ultimately fitting. But unlike the season prior, the Terps’ locker room tightened at the seams following losses.

“It was a me-centered [locker room last year], versus we-centered [this season],” Frese said.

In pointed comments throughout the season, Frese constantly praised her group’s work ethic and ability to buy into her coaching style. Frese mentioned how the players would respond to losses with 4 a.m. film sessions and intense practices, which allowed them to never lose two games in a row despite not just the lack of established chemistry to start the year, but also the fact the schedule was one of Frese’s hardest during her coaching tenure.

“I’m just so grateful to have had this opportunity to come to an amazing school and make a deep run,” Meyers said. “It’s really a family and a community and, you know, I’m going to take that with me.”

Maryland finished the year with eight victories over teams ranked in the final coaches poll, most notably UConn and Notre Dame.

Perhaps the most impressive win on Maryland’s resume was its December victory over the Fighting Irish in a hostile road environment.

Miller made clutch shot after clutch shot, including the buzzer-beater to give the Terps a signature victory on the road. Miller’s crescendo season was an excellent one, as she finished the year averaging 19.7 points and 6.4 rebounds per game and was an All-Big Ten first team selection.

Miller’s phenomenal season resulted in her being taken No. 2 overall in the 2023 WNBA Draft to the Minnesota Lynx, tied for the highest a Terp has ever been drafted. But Miller wasn’t the only Terp selected, as Abby Meyers rose into the first round and was selected by the Dallas Wings at No. 11.

As the offseason commences, Maryland’s lineup will look a lot different without the two draftees. Yet, with another stellar recruiting cycle from Frese and multiple key pieces electing to stay, the Terps are potentially poised for another deep tournament run next season.