No. 10 Maryland women’s basketball held its annual preseason media day on Thursday. Head coach Brenda Frese and players spoke to the media at Xfinity Center.
Maryland begins play on Sunday in an exhibition game at No. 9 North Carolina State. Its regular season begins on Nov. 3 when the Terps host Loyola Maryland.
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Here are three takeaways from the team’s media day.
This season’s team brings a fresh dynamic
Despite bringing back some key returners, Maryland’s newcomers will have a strong impact in changing the team from last season.
“We have seven new faces, plus three redshirt freshmen who have been working really hard behind the scenes, ready to play,” Frese said. “We’re deep, we’re fast, we’re athletic, we can defend and we can score.”
Maryland brought in two key transfers with impressive résumés. Yarden Garzon and Oluchi Okananwa were leaders at other programs.
Garzon is Indiana’s all-time leader in total 3-pointers (220) with a career 42.6% clip from 3-point range. Okananwa was last season’s ACC Tournament Most Outstanding Player with Duke as the Blue Devils advanced to the Elite Eight.
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Maryland brought in five freshmen, two from the United States and three from abroad. Slovenian guard Lea Bartelme and Belarusian forward Marya Boiko are both expected to be immediate contributors.
The Terps are deeper than they were last season, but they lost key leaders. That change resulted in the team’s dynamic changing.
“It’s very different because, like, we had people like Allie [Kubek] and [Shyanne Sellers] who were here,” Isimenme Ozzy-Momodu said. “This is basically a whole different, new team. So once we’ve put everything together, it’s like, it makes sense, like we have, like our own style of playing.”
Maryland’s depth lacked last season, especially as it worked through several injuries. The Terps will have more impactful players available to their disposal, which will diversify their lineups and ways to spread out the floor.
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The Terps added several scoring options, which will take the load off of top scorers like Kaylene Smikle, Bri McDaniel, Garzon and Okananwa. Last season, Sellers was relied on in every moment for the Terps.
Despite her absence, the Terps could have an equally dangerous scoring attack, albeit with a greater focus on spreading out the shot-taking.
“You’ll see on the floor where every player that’s on the floor can score for us this season. So you’re going to see a lot of different weapons that we’re going to be able to unfold,” Frese said.
Maryland will battle to remain healthy
Despite advancing to the Sweet 16 last season, Maryland had a plethora of injuries that affected its depth.
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“Probably our biggest opponent will be staying healthy,” Frese said. “I think we saw that last year, that as long as we can keep the health of our team, great things are going to be in store for us.”
Last season, the Terps had several key players struggle with injuries, most notably Sellers and McDaniel. Ozzy-Momodu and Kyndal Walker redshirted due to injury, but both are available for Maryland this season.
McDaniel suffered a torn ACL on Jan. 14 against Minnesota, which ended her 2024-25 season. Maryland’s performance took a dip after her injury, as her presence had impacted the game in multiple ways.
“[McDaniel’s] that player that makes you go on both ends of the floor with her energy and with her motor, you feel her presence immediately. She’s so versatile for us, on both ends of the floor,” Frese said. “Like anything else that Bri has ever done, she’s put her head down, not felt sorry for herself, and just has just worked and is ahead of schedule.”
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That said, Frese would not reveal a timeline for McDaniel’s return other than that she’s ahead of schedule.
Frese also revealed that Smikle has been limited in training camp due to some nagging injuries. She will likely be ready for the start of the season, but has had her training slowed down.
“[Smikle’s] been slowed a little bit with some nagging injuries, so we haven’t had the full effect of KK yet, but we know when she is on the court what that’s going to look like,” Frese said.
Smikle, McDaniel, Welson and Ozzy-Momodu did not play in Maryland’s open practice Saturday.
The Terps emphasized a greater defensive presence
Maryland’s defense was solid last season, but lacked strong defensive efforts throughout the lineup.
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Last season’s defense was bolstered by Christina Dalce, who is no longer on the roster. Despite Maryland’s best efforts, injuries prevented the defense from reaching its full potential.
This season, the Terps have emphasized a stronger and complete defensive unit.
“Where we’re probably most excited, the depth on the defensive end. Through the injuries last year, we were really limited. We had to dial back the full court defense, changing a lot of defenses,” Frese said. “I’ll say this team is really we are so much further along defensively, ball screen, coverage, full court, half court, than we’ve been at any point. And that’s a testament, just on both ends of the floor.”
Boiko could provide a strong defensive presence. She boasts a 6-foot-4 frame, and has the ability to make an impact in the paint. She will likely step into the void left by Kubek, and was a necessary addition after Gracie Merkle decommitted from the program.
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The Terps didn’t allow 100 points in any game last season, but it was evident in several losses that the defense struggled — notably against Texas and Michigan in the Big Ten Tournament.
“I’ll say the IQ of this team is off the charts with how quickly they pick up plays and how quickly on the defensive end, the amount of combinations that we already have on the defensive end from a half-court and a full court,” Frese said.
Sunday’s exhibition against NC State will be a test for Maryland’s defense against a premier opponent. Despite not being televised, it will be a chance for Maryland’s more inexperienced players to get their first taste of college basketball.
