Aug. 15, 2002

COLLEGE PARK, Md. - -

Revised Oct. 10, 2002

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The University of Maryland released the women's basketball schedule that will serve as not only the first of the Frese Era at Maryland, but also will mark the opening of the Comcast Center. The Terrapins will host their own tournament over Thanksgiving weekend and travel to the Gatorade Holiday Classic as well as Penn State to highlight the non-conference schedule. The Terps will appear on television at least four times this season.

The Terps' schedule includes the natural rigors of women's basketball in the Atlantic Coast Conference and will challenge a young Maryland team, who lost five seniors last year and returns a team of mostly freshmen and sophomores. According to head coach Brenda Frese, "We've inherited a very rigorous schedule to be put upon such a young team -- just the ACC competition alone will be a great challenge to our squad. This schedule will test us early and often, and should teach the underclassmen a great deal."

Maryland begins the Comcast Era against local-rival Loyola on Nov. 22 at 7 p.m., and makes the trek Niagara for a 2 p.m. tilt on Nov. 24. College Park will be the site of the Terrapin Classic on Nov. 29-30, with Maryland opening up against Rider at 5 p.m. on Friday night. Maryland-Eastern Shore and Rhode Island face-off at 7:30 p.m. Saturday's second round action begins at 11:00 a.m. with Rider vs. either Maryland-Eastern Shore or Rhode Island and Maryland finishing out tournament action at 1:30 p.m. versus their second round opponent, which is determined by the game results on day one.

The Terps travel to 2002 NCAA Mideast region finalist Penn State on Dec. 4 for a 7 p.m. contest in University Park. The Lady Lions are one of only three teams on the schedule that the new Maryland coaching staff met last year, with Miami and North Carolina being the other two squads Frese and her staff matched-up against in the 2001-02 season they spent at Minnesota.

Maryland hits the road again for Richmond on Dec. 7 at 2 p.m., before hosting a three-game homestand against Virginia Tech (Dec. 11, 7 p.m.), Coppin State (Dec. 15, 2 p.m.) and UMBC (Dec. 21, noon). The Gatorade Holiday Classic at the University of Miami (Fla.) heats up the action after the holidays on Saturday, Dec. 28, against Cleveland State at 5 p.m. and then against either Miami or William & Mary at either 5 p.m. or 7:30 p.m. on Sunday, Dec. 29.

ACC action begins in January for the Terps in Raleigh, N.C. against the NC State Wolfpack at 7 p.m. Georgia Tech visits Maryland on Jan. 5 at 2 p.m. for the first women's ACC tangle in the state-of-the-art Comcast Center. Clemson comes to College Park on Jan. 9 at 7 p.m. with the Terps heading to Winston-Salem, N.C., for a 2 p.m. game with Wake Forest in the Annex on Jan. 12.

Maryland hosts Florida State on Jan. 16 at 7 p.m. The Terps make their first television appearance on the ACC's regional sports networks against Virginia in Charlottesville, Va. Maryland travels to 2002 ACC Champion Duke on Jan. 23 for a 7:00 p.m. matchup. Frese's new squad meets North Carolina, the team that eliminated her Minnesota Golden Gopher team from the NCAA tournament in last year's second round, on Jan. 27 at 7 p.m. in College Park before the ACC slate resumes.

NC State comes to the Comcast Center for the first televised women's game from the building on Jan. 27 at 7 p.m. in a Monday-night match-up. The Terps hit the road for a two-game stretch at Georgia Tech in Atlanta, Ga., (Feb. 7 at 7 p.m.) and Clemson in Clemson, S.C., (Feb. 9 at 2 p.m.). The Demon Deacons head to College Park on Thursday, Feb. 13 at 7 p.m. before the Terps make their longest ACC roadtrip to Tallahassee, Fla., to take on the Seminoles of Florida State on television at 1 p.m.

Virginia (Feb. 20 at 7 p.m.) and Duke (Feb. 24 at 7 p.m.) round-out the Terrapins' inaugural season at the Comcast Center. Maryland's trip to Chapel Hill to meet North Carolina is the final regular season game before the conference tournament, which will be held in Greensboro, N.C.

The 26th Annual ACC Tournament will be held at the Greensboro Coliseum from March 7-10, with NCAA Tournament action beginning on March 22.