University University of Maryland Nickname Terrapin Conference Big Ten Conference | Location College Park, Maryland Head coach Brenda Frese | |
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Colors Red, White, Black, and Gold Arena Xfinity Center College Park | ||
The Maryland Terrapins women's basketball team represents the University of Maryland in National Collegiate Athletic Association Division I competition. Maryland, a founding member of the Atlantic Coast Conference (ACC), left the ACC in 2014 to join the Big Ten Conference. The program won the 2006 NCAA Women's Division I Basketball Tournament championship and has appeared in the NCAA Final Four five times (1982, 1989, 2006, 2014, 2015); Maryland also appeared once in the AIAW Final Four (1978). As members of the ACC, the Terrapins won regular season conference championships (1979, 1982, 1988, 1989, 2009) and an ACC-record ten conference tournament championships (1978, 1979, 1981, 1982, 1983, 1986, 1988, 1989, 2009, 2012). The program won the Big Ten Conference regular season and tournament championships in 2015 and 2016.
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Since 2002, team has been led by head coach Brenda Frese, who has led the Terrapins to the 2006 NCAA national championship, three trips to the NCAA Final Four, six appearances in the NCAA Elite Eight, seven berths in the NCAA Sweet 16, and 12 NCAA tournament appearances in 14 seasons as head coach.
History
Women's basketball was first organized to play on campus in 1923. The early teams participated solely in intracollegiate competition, with classes or sororities competing against each other for a trophy. The team was officially recognized as a varsity sport in 1971, and was led by coach Dottie McKnight during its first four seasons. The Terps were successful from the start, winning their first state championship in the 1972-73 season. They went on to win ten ACC championships and one NCAA title.
On January 26, 1975, the Lady Terrapins played host to Immaculata in the first nationally televised women's college basketball game. The game took place in Cole Field House. Some sources report that Immaculata won 80–48, while others report 85–63.
The team has been led by three head coaches: Dottie McKnight (1971–1975), Chris Weller (1975–2002), and Brenda Frese (2002–present). Although McKnight only coached four seasons of Terps basketball, she quickly led her new team to success. She left with a record of 44-17 (.721). Weller, a University of Maryland alumna ('66) and former Terps player, took over the head coaching position in 1975. She led the Terps to numerous national championship appearances and a total of eight ACC championship titles. When she retired, Weller left with a 499-286 record (.636). At the end of the 2014 season, current coach Brenda Frese has a record of 278-95 (.745). She has also led her team to a national championship title, eight national championship appearances, and two conference championship titles. Frese is known for her recruiting skills, with Shay Doron being credited as her first major recruit.
Notable players
Many Lady Terrapins have gone on to national prominence, appearing in the Olympics and playing in professional leagues.
2007–08 season
Head coach Brenda Frese announced during the pre-season that she was pregnant. Because of this, she was unable to coach from the sidelines for most of the regular season. Newcomer assistant coach Daron Park would take on the role of acting head coach. With the coaching changes, the experienced Lady Terrapins improved to a 30-3 record, and ranked 5 and 6 in the AP and Coaches polls respectively. Key returning players include Marissa Coleman, Laura Harper, Crystal Langhorne, and Kristi Toliver, all of whom were on the 2006 NCAA Championship team. With the loss of Shay Doron, whose #22 jersey was honored this season, Frese brought in 5 recruits. Two weeks after giving birth to twin boys, Frese returned to the sidelines during the ACC women's basketball tournament. Maryland eventually lost to Duke in the semifinals.
Year by year results
Conference tournament winners noted with # Source