The Maryland Terrapins women's basketball team represents the

University of Maryland The University of Maryland, College Park (University of Maryland, UMD, or simply Maryland) is a public land-grant research university in College Park, Maryland. Founded in 1856, UMD is the flagship institution of the University System of M ...

National Collegiate Athletic Association The National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA) is a nonprofit organization that regulates student athletics among about 1,100 schools in the United States, Canada, and Puerto Rico. It also organizes the athletic programs of colleges an ...

Division I competition. Maryland, a founding member of the

Atlantic Coast Conference The Atlantic Coast Conference (ACC) is a collegiate athletic conference located in the eastern United States. Headquartered in Greensboro, North Carolina, the ACC's fifteen member universities compete in the National Collegiate Athletic Associa ...

(ACC), left the ACC in 2014 to join the

Big Ten Conference The Big Ten Conference (stylized B1G, formerly the Western Conference and the Big Nine Conference) is the oldest Division I collegiate athletic conference in the United States. Founded as the Intercollegiate Conference of Faculty Representati ...

. The program won the 2006 NCAA Division I women's 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, 2016, 2017, 2020, and 2021. Since 2002, the team has been led by head coach

Brenda Frese Brenda Sue Frese (born April 30, 1970) is an American women's basketball head coach and former player. Since 2002, she has served as the head coach of the University of Maryland women's basketball team. In her fourth year as head coach, she won the ...

. Over her 20 season tenure, she has led the Terrapins to 17 NCAA tournament appearances, ten NCAA Sweet Sixteens, six NCAA Elite Eight, three NCAA Final Fours, and the 2006 NCAA National Championship.

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 Terps played host to

Immaculata The Immaculate Conception is the belief that the Virgin Mary was free of original sin from the moment of her conception. It is one of the four Marian dogmas of the Catholic Church, meaning that it is held to be a divinely revealed truth wh ...

in the first nationally televised women's college basketball game. The game took place in

Cole Field House The Jones-Hill House is an indoor collegiate sports training complex located on of land on the campus of the University of Maryland in College Park, a suburb north of Washington, D.C. Jones-Hill House is situated in the center of the campus, ...

. Some sources report that Immaculata won 80–48, while others report 85–63. On March 9, 2019, Maryland won its 1000th game, becoming the 14th (unsure, based on 2017 data) team to win 1000 games. It did so at home against Michigan in the Big Ten Semifinals, which it won by a score of 73-72. The team has been led by three head coaches: Dottie McKnight (1971–1975),

Chris Weller Chris Weller (born July 12, 1944) is a former University of Maryland, College Park women's basketball coach who led the Lady Terps for 27 seasons from 1975 until 2002. Weller was inducted into the Women's Basketball Hall of Fame in 2010. Educ ...

(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 2018–19 season, current coach Brenda Frese has a record of 458–124 (.787). 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 Shay Doron ( he, שי דורון) (born April 1, 1985) is an Israeli professional basketball player in the Israeli league. She currently plays for Maccabi Ashdod. Biography Doron was born in Ramat Hasharon, Israel, to Yehuda and Tamari Doron. Fo ...

being credited as her first major recruit.

Notable players

Many Terps have gone on to national prominence, appearing in the Olympics and playing in professional leagues. *

Vicky Bullett Victoria Andrea Bullett (born October 4, 1967) is an American former professional basketball player and current women's basketball head coach at West Virginia Wesleyan College. She played for the Charlotte Sting and Washington Mystics in the WNB ...

, Olympian in 1988 and 1992; played in Italy for

Bari Bari ( , ; nap, label= Barese, Bare ; lat, Barium) is the capital city of the Metropolitan City of Bari and of the Apulia region, on the Adriatic Sea, southern Italy. It is the second most important economic centre of mainland Southern Italy a ...

(1990–93) and

Cesena Cesena (; rgn, Cisêna) is a city and ''comune'' in the Emilia-Romagna region of Italy, served by Autostrada A14, and located near the Apennine Mountains, about from the Adriatic Sea. The total population is 97,137. History Cesena was o ...

(1993–97), in Brazil for the Data Control/

Fluminense Fluminense Football Club (), known as Fluminense, is a Brazilian sports club best known for its professional football team that competes in the Campeonato Brasileiro Série A, the first tier of Brazilian football and the Campeonato Carioca, th ...

professional team, and for the WNBA's

Charlotte Sting The Charlotte Sting were a Women's National Basketball Association (WNBA) team based in Charlotte, North Carolina, one of the league's eight original teams. The team folded on January 3, 2007. The Sting was originally the sister organization of ...

(1997–1999) and

Washington Mystics The Washington Mystics are an American professional basketball team based in Washington, D.C. The Mystics compete in the Women's National Basketball Association (WNBA) as a member club of the league's Eastern Conference. The team was founded pri ...

(2000–02) *Sonia Chase, played for the WNBA's Charlotte Sting (1998–99) *

Marissa Coleman Marissa Coleman (born January 4, 1987) is an American professional basketball player previously played for the New York Liberty of the Women's National Basketball Association (WNBA). Personal life Coleman was born in Portland, Oregon to Tony and ...

, played for the WNBA's Washington Mystics (2009–11),

Los Angeles Sparks The Los Angeles Sparks (LA Sparks) are an American professional basketball team based in Los Angeles. The Sparks compete in the Women's National Basketball Association (WNBA) as a member club of the league's Western Conference. The team was foun ...

(2012–2013) and

Indiana Fever The Indiana Fever are an American professional basketball team based in Indianapolis, playing in the Eastern Conference in the Women's National Basketball Association (WNBA). The team was founded before the 2000 season began. The team is owned ...

(2014–present) *

Katrina Colleton Katrina Colleton (born March 17, 1971) is an American former professional basketball player who played 4 season in the WNBA. She played two seasons for the Los Angeles Sparks (1997 and 1998) then after sitting out the entire 1999 season, played ...

, played for the WNBA's Los Angeles Sparks (1997–1998) and

Miami SOL The Miami Sol were a professional women's basketball team that was based in Miami and entered the Women's National Basketball Association (WNBA) in 2000. They played their games at American Airlines Arena as the sister team to the Miami Heat of the ...

(2000–2001) *

, played for the WNBA's

New York Liberty The New York Liberty are an American professional basketball team based in the New York City borough of Brooklyn. The Liberty compete in the Women's National Basketball Association (WNBA) as part of the league's Eastern Conference. The team was f ...

(2007–2008), the Romanian League's

Municipal MCM Târgovişte A municipality is usually a single administrative division having municipal corporation, corporate status and powers of self-government or jurisdiction as granted by national and regional laws to which it is subordinate. The term ''municipality ...

(2010), and the Israeli leagues' Elitzur Ramla (2007–08, 2010–present) *Kelley Gibson, played for the WNBA's

Houston Comets The Houston Comets were a Women's National Basketball Association (WNBA) team based in Houston. Formed in 1997, the team was one of the original eight WNBA teams and won the first four championships of the league's existence. They are one of two ...

(2000–03) *

Lea Hakala Lea Helena Hakala (born 15 March 1960)) is a Finnish basketball coach and former player. Hakala is considered to be the best Finnish women's basketball player ever. She won 16 women's Finnish championships. In the Finnish national team she pla ...

, Olympian in 1984 (Finnish team) * Laura Harper, played for the WNBA's

Sacramento Monarchs The Sacramento Monarchs were a basketball team based in Sacramento, California. They played in the Women's National Basketball Association (WNBA) from 1997 until folding on November 20, 2009. They played their home games at ARCO Arena. The Mona ...

(2008–09) *

Tianna Hawkins Tianna Bartoletta née Madison (born August 30, 1985) is an American track and field athlete who specializes in the long jump and short sprinting events. She is a two-time Olympian with three gold medals. At the 2012 Summer Olympics she placed ...

, played for the WNBA's

Seattle Storm The Seattle Storm are an American professional basketball team based in Seattle. The Storm competes in the Women's National Basketball Association (WNBA) as a member club of the league's Western Conference. The team was founded by Ginger Ackerl ...

(2013) and

(2014–present) * Tara Heiss, Olympian in 1980 * Jessie Hicks, played for the WNBA's

Utah Starzz Utah ( , ) is a state in the Mountain West subregion of the Western United States. Utah is a landlocked U.S. state bordered to its east by Colorado, to its northeast by Wyoming, to its north by Idaho, to its south by Arizona, and to its we ...

(1997–98),

Orlando Miracle The Orlando Miracle were a Women's National Basketball Association (WNBA) team based in Orlando, Florida. It began play in the 1999 WNBA season. The Miracle relocated, in 2003, to Uncasville, Connecticut, where the team became the Connecticut Su ...

(2000–02),

Connecticut Sun The Connecticut Sun are an American professional basketball team based in Uncasville, Connecticut that competes in the Eastern Conference (WNBA), Eastern Conference of the Women's National Basketball Association (WNBA). The team was established ...

(2003), and

San Antonio Silver Stars The San Antonio Stars were a professional basketball team based in San Antonio, playing in the Western Conference in the Women's National Basketball Association (WNBA). The team was founded in Salt Lake City, Utah, as the Utah Starzz before the ...

(2004) * Kris Kirchner, Olympian in 1980 *

Crystal Langhorne Crystal Allison Langhorne (born October 27, 1986) is an American former basketball player of the Women's National Basketball Association (WNBA). She played for the University of Maryland Terrapins. In 2008 she was drafted by the Washington Mysti ...

, played for the WNBA's Washington Mystics (2008–2013) and

2014–present * Limor Mizrachi, played for the ABL's

New England Blizzard The New England Blizzard was a women's professional basketball franchise based in Hartford, Connecticut. The Blizzard was a charter member of the American Basketball League (1996–98), American Basketball League (ABL). Playing from 1996 through 1 ...

(1998) * Jasmina Perazić, Olympian in 1984 (Yugoslavian team); played for the WNBA's New York Liberty (1997) *Deanna Tate, played for the ABL's New England Blizzard (1997–1998) and the

Chicago Condors The Chicago Condors were a very short-lived member of the American Basketball League (ABL). Their hometown was much larger than usual for the ABL, which mainly targeted mid-market cities, and initial team merchandising was successful. The team a ...

(1998) *

Alyssa Thomas Alyssa Thomas (born April 12, 1992) is an American professional basketball forward for the Connecticut Sun of the Women's National Basketball Association (WNBA). She played college basketball for the Maryland Terrapins. The New York Liberty drafte ...

, played for the WNBA's

(2014–present) *

Kristi Toliver Kristi Renee Toliver (born January 27, 1987) is an American-Slovak professional basketball player for the Los Angeles Sparks of the Women's National Basketball Association (WNBA) and an NBA assistant coach with the Dallas Mavericks. During her ro ...

, played for the WNBA's

Chicago Sky The Chicago Sky are an American professional basketball team based in Chicago. The Sky compete in the Women's National Basketball Association (WNBA) as a member club of the league's Eastern Conference. The franchise was founded prior to the 20 ...

(2009),

(2010–2016) and

(2017-present)

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 Terps 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.

Coaching staff

Year by year results

, -style="background: #ffffdd;" , colspan="8" align="center" ,

Postseason results

NCAA Division I

AIAW Division I

The Terrapins made four appearances in the

AIAW National Division I basketball tournament The Association for Intercollegiate Athletics for Women (AIAW) was founded in 1971 to govern collegiate women's athletics in the United States and to administer national championships (see AIAW Champions). It evolved out of the Commission on Interc ...

, with a combined record of 13–1.

External links

*
Maryland Talk Show – Women's Basketball

References

{{Big Ten Conference women's basketball navbox

History

Notable players

2007–08 season

Coaching staff

Year by year results

Postseason results

NCAA Division I

AIAW Division I

See also

External links

References