Women's Basketball Opens 2003-04 Season
11/20/2003 7:00:00 AM | Women's Basketball
Nov. 20, 2003
COLLEGE PARK, Md. -
GAME 1: vs. Coppin State
Friday, Nov. 21 7:00 p.m.
vs. Niagara
Sunday, Nov. 23 1:00 p.m.
Comcast Center (17,950)
College Park, Md.
Terps Open Season With Five-Straight Home Games
* The Maryland women's basketball team opens the second year of the New Era of Women's Basketball under head coach Brenda Frese on Friday, Nov. 21 against Coppin State. The Terps then host Niagara to continue a five-game home stretch to open the year on Sunday, Nov. 23.
* Maryland looks to extend its opening season win streak to five when it takes on the Lady Eagles. The Terps are 26-16 all-time in season and home openers, and is a perfect 8-0 all-time in the series against Coppin State.
* Both Coppin State and Niagara open its seasons against Maryland this weekend.
Head Coach Brenda Frese
* In her fifth season overall as a head coach, Brenda Frese looks forward to year two in guiding the Maryland Terrapins. A 1993 Arizona graduate and a native of Cedar Rapids, Iowa, the 2002 AP National Coach of the Year is looking towards taking the next step in the rebuilding process and taking the Terps back the national power they once were. Maryland ended the season with a 10-18 overall mark in her first season at the Terrapin helm with eight losses coming by 10 points or less. The Terps also took several steps in the right direction, including breaking 100 points in a game for the first time since 1993, claiming the team's first ACC road win since the 2000-01 season and drawing a crowd of 5,078, the largest since Feb. 24, 1996.
* In four seasons as a head coach, Frese has put together a 67-48 (.548) career record, making amazing turnarounds along the way. Starting her career as an assistant coach at Kent State and Iowa State, she took over the head coaching duties at Ball State in 2000. Prior to Frese's arrival, Ball State had gone 66-169. In Frese's to seasons there, she guided the Cardinals to a 16-13 record in her first season then led the team to a school-record 19-9 mark, while receiving votes in the AP poll and climbing as high as No. 28. Her next stop was at Minnesota where she led a Golden Gopher team that went 8-20 to a 22-8 record, advanced to the NCAA Tournament second round and achieved a No. 18 national ranking in the final AP regular season poll, while along the way breaking several school records.
* For her successes, Frese has earned conference and national accolades. She was named MAC Coach of the Year in 2000 as mentor of the Cardinals and was then selected Big Ten and AP National Coach of the Year in 2002 after her stint as head coach at Minnesota. In her 10 seasons as a coach, she has helped her teams to four NCAA Tournament appearances and advancing to the NCAA Elite Eight in 1999.
Last Time Out
* Freshman Kalika France led Maryland to a 98-75 win over Team Concept in the team's final exhibition game of the year. Playing in just her second game in a Terrapin uniform, France was one assist away from a triple-double, netting 16 points, 12 rebounds and nine assists. She was also 7-for-10 from the field, helping the team to an incredible 58.3 shooting percentage. Sophomore Chrissy Fisher also had an impressive shooting performance, leading all scorers with 24 points on 8-of-15 shooting. Freshman Shay Doron and senior Delvona Oliver added 17 and 14 points, respectively, to round out the double-digit scorers.
* With the win over Team Concept, the Terps went 2-0 in the exihibition slate, also defeating the Turkish National Team, 58-56.
About Coppin State
* The Lady Eagles open the 2003-04 slate against the Terps. Under the tutelafe of four year head coach Derek Brown, Coppin State went 11-18 last year and 7-11, to place in a tie for seventh, in the Mid-Eastern Athletic Conference.
* CSC returns 12 letterwinners, including four starters, from last year's squad. The team's leading scorer and rebounder last year, LaKesha Williams averaged 13.4 points and 7.9 rebounds per game.
Series vs. Coppin State
* The Terps have never lost to the Lady Eagles in eight meetings. Last year, Maryland won, 66-43, at Comcast Center.
About Nagara
* The Purple Eagles pulled out a 93-90 victory over NWBL Elite in their only exhibition game of the season. Junior Eva Cunningham led four double-digit scorers with 27 points. Junior Colleen Toetz added 23 points, while senior Jessica Kemp and newcomer Chantelle Wilson each chipped in 13 apiece.
* A member of the Metro Atlantic Athletic Conference (MAAC), Niagara was picked to finish fourth in the conferences Preseason Coaches Poll. Under the tutelage of 16th-year head coach Bill Argonin, Niagara was 20-9 last season, 13-5 in the MAAC for a third-place finish. The team returns eight letterwinners and three starters from last year's team. Junior Eva Cunningham earned first team preseason All-MAAC honors while senior Jessica Kemp was named to the third team.
Series Vs. Niagara
* The series against Niagara began last year. The Terps won a 68-53 decision in the Gallagher Center in Niagara, N.Y. Terri Daniels and Renneika Razor paced the Maryland offense with 19 and 12 points, respectively, as nine different players scored in the win. Charmaine Carr was one point shy of a double-double, grabbing 10 boards to go along with nine points.
Former Teammates Reunite on Comcast Floor
* Junior transfer Alli Spence will be reunited with a former teammate when the Terps take on Team Concept. Spence was a teammate of Concept's Sharron Francis. Both were teammates for two seasons at Old Dominion, from 2000-2001.
Moving Up
* Two Terps are looking to make moves in the Maryland record books. Entering the season, fifth-year senior Vicki Brick is ninth in the record books in career at 206. She also ranks 12th with 316 career assists.
* In just one season, sophomore Chrissy Fisher has already made her mark in the Maryland record books. One of the best three-point sharp shooters in school history, she ranks sixth in the record books with 42 three-pointers made and seventh with 110 three-point field goals attempted. Her .382 field goal percentage behind the arc is currently fourth-best all-time.
Who's Back
* Maryland returns seven letterwinners from last season's squad, including three starters. Fifth-year senior Vicki Brick comes back as the team's point guard. Starting all 28 games, she averaged 7.8 points per game and 3.3 assists per game. The tallest player on the squad, Delvona Oliver is looking to put in a full season after coming to College Park as a transfer. After taking to the floor in late December, she averaged 10.5 ppg and 5.3 rpg. A starter in 23 games, Angel Ross is the team's top-returning rebounder, averaging 5.5 boards per game.
* Also coming back this season are sophomore Chrissy Fisher, classmate Charmaine Carr, junior Anesia Smith and senior Crystal Washington. Fisher earned ACC All-Freshmen team honors last year. Carr started 19 games and Smith scored 5.3 ppg while appearing in all 28 games. Washington was hampered by injuries for most of last year and looks to be in top health.
Terps Welcome Five New Faces
* Maryland welcomes five new faces to the squad - four freshmen and one junior transfer. Freshmen Shay Doron and Kalika France come in with a number of accolades including earning Parade All-America honors last year. Both were also named Gatorade Player of the Year for their home state.
* Invited walk-on C'Vette Henson comes from nearby Annapolis High where she was named all-county and All-Met after leading Anne Arundel County in scoring her senior year. Fellow freshman Aurelie Noirez crossed the Atlantic Ocean to get to College Park. A native of Vandoeuvre, France, she was a member of the French Junior National Team.
* The fifth newcomer to the team brings plenty of experience with her. A junior transfer, Alli Spence played two seasons at Old Dominion University and was named Colonial Athletic Conference Rookie of the Year in 2000.
Also Joining the Terps...
* A new face will also be roaming the Comcast Center sidelines. Assistant coach Joanna Bernabei comes with a wealth of experience as a head coach, assistant coach and a collegiate player. Last year, she was an assistant coach for two seasons at West Virginia and also had stints at Eastern Kentucky and West Virginia Wesleyan.
* Bernabei replaced head coach Brenda Frese's sister, Marsha. Marsha Frese was a Terps assistant coach last season and left for an assistant coaching position at Illinois.
Top Recruits Sign with Maryland
* Head coach Brenda Frese announced the signing of four of the nation's top recruits, bringing even more excitement to the New Era of Women's Basketball as the Terps look to return to national prominence. Laura Harper, Crystal Langhorne, Jade Perry and Ashleigh Newman have signed National Letters of Intent to play basketball in College Park beginning the 2004-05 season. Full bios and list of accomplishments can be found on www.umterps.com.
Maryland on the Tube
* The Terps will make at least six television appearances this season as part of the ACC women's basketball schedule. Maryland's first televised contest is against Virginia in Comcast Center on Jan. 4.
Terps on the Airwaves
* For the second-straight year nearly every Maryland women's basketball game can be heard over the radio airwaves either by the Terrapin Sports Network or by Maryland's student radio station, WMUC. Voice of the Terps Johnny Holliday returns as play-by-play announcer on the Terrapin Sports Network and will be announcing six of the Terps' games.
* Games airing on the Terrapins Sports Network can be heard on affiliates throughout Maryland and Baltimore areas. Maryland home and road games broadcast by WMUC can be heard on 88.1 FM as well as on the web at www.wmuc.com and www.wmucsports.com.
Up Next
* Maryland stays home for the annual Terrapin Classic. Terps host Sacred Heart, UMES and Louisiana Lafayette the day after Thanksgiving on Nov. 28. The championship and consolation games will be played Nov. 29.
