Keeping The Faith: One Year After An ACL Tear, Faith Masonius Is Back At Full Force For Maryland

Faith Masonius recalls laying out for a loose ball during Maryland’s first official team scrimmage of the season and instantly feeling that she was getting back to her regular basketball self coming off her ACL tear.

“That was a good sign for me early because I felt comfortable enough to do the things I’ve always done on the court and make those hustle plays that I’ve always made,” Masonius said. “In those moments, I know I’m good because I’m not even thinking twice about my knee.

When you see me diving on the floor, it’s always a good signal that I’m feeling good,” she added. “Sometimes, people will tell me to stop diving because it’s easier to get hurt that way, but that’s such a normal tendency for me that I don’t even think about it when I’m feeling like myself.”
 

Masonius’ early inclination that she was close to reverting back to her previous identity on the court proved to be more than true. She has (literally) been at the center of a guard-heavy and often undersized Terps team that is currently ranked No. 9 in the nation after a 13-4 start. 

“Faith is a winner,” head coach Brenda Frese said after Maryland’s 94-85 win over Michigan State where Masonius scored 12 points and logged 30 minutes. “Obviously, having her mom as a coach she understands the game…Oftentimes, I don’t even need to say a thing (in huddles) because she’s that floor general out on the court. She’s just a winner through and through.”

Masonius’ statistics (7.2 PPG and 4.5 RPG) are impressive, but certainly not mind-blowing by any means. However, those who really follow Maryland know that Masonius’ role on the team is essential. Night in and night out, she is guarding the opposing team’s top post player, despite standing just 6-foot-1 herself. Furthermore, her 26.8 minutes per game rank third on the team and she has started all 17 of the Terps’ games to this point. 

That role is one that Masonius does not take lightly. 

“I think I’m that glue player,” she said. “I’m the person who does all the little things. And I think it’s really important to have a person like that in every single program, so I really embrace that role.”

And just as she did in her first official scrimmage back from injury, Masonius continues to stand out for her heart and hustle. Whether it's laying out for loose balls or coming up with the fifty-fifty plays that win games, Masonius is there to do it at all.

“It’s fun to make those little plays. I absolutely love diving on the floor to get a loose ball and then passing to a teammate for a wide-open layup. Those little things might not always get acknowledged on the stat sheet, but my teammates, my coaches and everyone around me definitely embrace and recognize what I do and they give me the confidence to go out there and keep doing it.”

Of course, Masonius’ position as that glue player was challenged on Jan. 2, 2022 at Indiana when she went down with a lower body injury.

“Right when I did it, I knew it wasn’t good,” Masonius recalled. “I went back with the trainers and was like, ‘Don’t sugarcoat it, just tell me the truth’. And all of them told me right away it was my ACL.”

From there, Masonius had no choice but to attack her recovery process head-on—but that didn’t mean there weren’t challenges along the way.

“I didn’t always fully understand how much it took to go through this recovery until I went through it myself,” she said. “I don’t think it really hit me, especially mentally, until four months after I had surgery. It was hard because it got so repetitive with the physical therapy and everything you go through emotionally.”

Fortunately, Masonius had people around her every step of the way. She talked to teammates like former Terp guard Chloe Bibby who had been through the same injury before and was there to offer advice. She also recalls Bibby and Shyanne Sellers always being ready to hang out and do something fun whenever Masonius needed to take her mind off the injury and the recovery process.

“I had a lot of good people around me who made me happy,” Masonius said. “That definitely helped the process a lot.” 

Today, Masonius is relishing her role on the court as she continues to find her groove with each passing game.

“At first, I was just rolling with the punches while I tried to figure out my way,” Masonius said. “I was trying to figure out if me as a basketball player was going to change with me coming back. It was obviously exciting to be able to play again, but it was nerve-wracking at the same time because I didn’t know how I was going to be able to play. But now, I’m pretty much back to my old self in terms of my confidence in my game and my role on the team.

I’m just happy to have basketball as an outlet again,” she added. “To be able to play and run up and down with my teammates everyday has been really exciting.”

The past couple of weeks have been a whirlwind of milestones and memories for Masonius. On Jan. 2, exactly a year after Masonius suffered her ACL tear, the Terps topped Rutgers 78-67 in a game where Masonius scored eight points. Ten days later, Maryland headed to Indiana for a top-ten matchup in the same place the injury occurred. 

“There were always two games on the calendar that I marked in my head that I would just have to get through and those were the two,” Masonius said. “All I could do in those games was take it one step at a time.”

For Masonius, those hard moments have been quelled by reminding herself how much she has grown in the past year. 

“I just keep telling myself how far I’ve come and how much I have to be proud of. Because it’s true. This year has been a lot, but I’ve gotten through it all and I think I came out on the other side even better because of it.”