COLLEGE PARK, Md. (AP) — For Brenda Frese and her unbeaten Maryland team, the word “chemistry” is an important one.
After a down season by their standards, the Terrapins have rebounded in 2024-25, winning their first 11 games with a slew of new players. Of the six women who have started for Maryland, four are transfers in their first season with the Terps. There was no way to know for sure how everyone would mesh, but the early signs are positive. No. 8 Maryland hosts No. 19 Michigan State on Sunday.
“I think there’s a lot to like with so many new players, to still be undefeated, and just find different ways to be able to win,” said Frese, in her 23rd season as Maryland’s coach. “I like our depth. We’ve really been focusing on both ends of the floor.”
It’s Maryland’s best start since 2018-19.
“I would definitely say that compared to the beginning of the season our team chemistry has really grown,” forward Christina Dalce said. “Our team chemistry is growing each time we practice, each time we have a game.”
Frese and the Terrapins have seen both sides of the transfer portal. Angel Reese left Maryland to go to LSU — then became a star on a national champion. Around that same time, the Terps brought in Abby Meyers, Elisa Pinzan, Brinae Alexander and Lavender Briggs. They went to the Elite Eight in 2022-23, the team’s longest run in eight years.
After losing a pair of WNBA first-round draft picks in Meyers and Diamond Miller, Maryland tried to reload last season with much shakier results. N.C. State transfer Jakia Brown-Turner was second in scoring, but the team struggled to a .500 record in conference play and lost in the first round of the NCAA Tournament.
So Frese went back to the portal, adding Dalce (Villanova), Kaylene Smikle (Rutgers), Saylor Poffenbarger (Arkansas) and Sarah Te-Biasu (Virginia Commonwealth). But it’s not as simple as just finding talented players. They have to fit well with each other and with their new surroundings.
“You bring in players that are hungry and motivated,” Frese said. “I think our staff does a really good job of wanting to find the right fits. We’re very selective with who we want to bring in, and we don’t want to build our roster that it’s all the same. I think you see a lot of players that are unique and different.”
From the 5-foot-5 Te-Biasu to the 6-foot-2 Dalce, the transfers are contributing. Smikle is averaging a team-high 17.7 points per game.
Poffenbarger, who actually played at UConn before transferring to Arkansas and then Maryland, now leads the Terps in rebounding.
“She works so hard, and it makes you want to work hard as well, too,” Dalce said. “She also brings like a different kind of energy that we all truly need.”
Maryland’s biggest win so far was a home victory over Duke in November. The Terps opened Big Ten play with a win at Purdue. Now they take on a Michigan State team that was itself unbeaten until its most recent game.
After facing the Spartans, Smikle will see her old team in a matchup with Rutgers. Then Maryland faces Iowa and Southern California in back-to-back games — a stretch that should indicate how much of a Big Ten title threat the Terps really are.
For now, the vibes at Maryland are excellent.
“When transfers have come in and maybe not had the situation or expectation they thought they were going to have in college, I love being the school and the university that is going to bring back their passion and their love for the game,” Frese said. “That’s why we’re in it.”
___
Get poll alerts and updates on the AP Top 25 throughout the season. Sign up here. AP women’s college basketball: https://apnews.com/hub/ap-top-25-womens-college-basketball-poll and https://apnews.com/hub/womens-college-basketball
Copyright © 2024 The Associated Press. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, written or redistributed.
