The Terps have a tough schedule awaiting them.
No. 18 Maryland women’s basketball faces a tough schedule this season, but Brenda Frese believes she has the personnel to succeed.
The Terps will play eight games against top-25 ranked opponents and 12 games against teams that made the 2024 NCAA Tournament.
Following a disappointing season, the Terps will have to show they still are still among the best teams in the conference and country.
Nonconference
Brenda Frese continues to schedule a difficult nonconference slate to test her squad for the grueling Big Ten. The Terps won’t play No. 1 South Carolina or No. 2 UConn like last year, but they still face some tough nonconference opponents
The Terps will host No. 11 Duke at Xfinity Center in a Sunday afternoon showdown on Nov. 10. Maryland will then travel to the JMA Wireless Dome to face Syracuse on Nov. 13.
Later in the season, Maryland will take a break from Big Ten play on Jan. 20 to take on No. 4 Texas in the Coretta Scott King Classic at the Prudential Center in Newark, New Jersey.
The Terps will start the season at UMBC on Nov. 4, with their home opener following on Nov. 7 against Coppin State.
The Terps will also compete in the Navy Classic and play George Mason and Toledo in Annapolis, Maryland on Nov. 30 and Dec. 1.
Rounding out the rest of nonconference play, the Terps will host Towson, Saint Francis, Mount St. Mary’s and William & Mary.
Big Ten play
Big Ten women’s basketball is a tough conference every year, but it’s even more so now with the addition of USC, UCLA, Oregon and Washington.
Caitlin Clark left Iowa for the WNBA, but JuJu Watkins enters to the conference to take her place.
Maryland’s first big conference test will be on Jan. 8 at home against No. 3 USC. Six of Maryland’s 18 Big Ten games will be against teams in the top 25.
Maryland will also host No. 5 UCLA on Jan. 26, No. 23 Nebraska on Feb. 13 and No. 14 Ohio State on Mar. 2. Maryland will visit No. 14 Ohio State on Jan. 23 and No. 25 Indiana on Feb. 27.
Big Ten play starts on Dec. 7 at home against Purdue, and the Terps first conference home game is on Dec. 29 against Michigan State.
Maryland will begin the new year hosting Rutgers on Jan. 2 and visiting currently-unranked Iowa on Jan. 5.
Rounding out conference play, the Terps will host Minnesota on Jan. 14, Illinois on Feb. 2 and Michigan on Feb. 17.
Maryland will have some difficult road tests against unranked opponents. The Terps will travel to Wisconsin on Jan. 11, Penn State on Jan. 29, Oregon on Feb. 6, Washington on Feb. 9 and Northwestern on Feb. 20.
Rotation
Maryland’s rotation and starting lineup is not set in stone, but some indications can be made to project Frese’s rotation.
Its starters look to be Shyanne Sellers, Bri McDaniel, Saylor Poffenbarger, Kaylene Smikle and Sarah Te-Bias, but there are questions of where Frese will go with her starting lineup due to a lack of size in that projected five.
Te-Biasu would be the point guard, McDaniel would be on the wing and Sellers would be the three. The offense, like last year, will most likely run through Sellers. Smikle will be the four and be a key scoring option in the starting lineup, while Poffenbarger will serve as an undersized center.
The next five off the bench will be key parts of Maryland’s rotation, and there are some question marks about who those five will be.
Based on what has been seen in the exhibitions, what Frese has said and last season, Allie Kubek, Christina Dalce, Emily Fisher, Mir McLean and Kyndal Walker could all see extended time off the bench.
Kubek would be Maryland’s main forward in the rotation and the first off the bench if not a starter, Walker and McLean would probably be in the backcourt. Dalce and Fisher would work frontcourt roles in the lineup.
The bottom of the bench is really where questions arise for Frese.
Amari DeBerry is a 6-foot-6 forward, easily Maryland’s tallest player. It is uncertain how this will translate to Frese’s system because she didn’t see a lot of minutes in her three years at UConn.
Ave McKennie, will be toward the bottom of the bench, but could have a chance at minutes.
Emma Chardon won’t be ready to start the season after an ACL injury. But when she’s healthy, it is still unclear where she will slot into the lineup.
Isimenme Ozzy-Momodu and Breanna Williams will redshirt the 2024-25 season, it was announced.