#7/6 Maryland (14-0, 2-0) at Illinois (12-1, 2-0)
January 1, 2026
4 PM ET
State Farm Center (Champaign, IL)
COLLEGE PARK, MD --Â Â The 7th-ranked Maryland women's basketball team (14-0, 2-0 B1G) will take on Illinois (12-1, 2-0) on Thursday, Jan. 1 with a 4 p.m. ET matchup at the State Farm Center in Champaign, Ill.Â
Thursday's game will be televised on the
Big Ten Network and can also be streamed on the Fox Sports app.Â
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2025-26 STORYLINES
What's UP
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The Terrapins are coming off of a 97-59 win over Wisconsin Monday in College Park. Oluchi Okananwa dropped a career-high 28 points, Yarden Garzon and Addi Mack each scored 15 and Saylor Poffenbarger added 14.
- Maryland is one of 11 teams in the country to still be undefeated.
- The Terps are 14-0 for the second straight season and the fifth time in school history. The best start in program history was 18-0 in 2006-07.
- Yarden Garzon was named Big Ten Player of the Week on Dec. 22 for her second career weekly honor.
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The Terrapins are No. 2 in the country and No. 1 in the Big Ten in rebounding margin (+16.5). The Terps are 10th in the country in scoring (89.3 ppg), 8th in scoring margin (+35.6) and No. 7 in free throws made per game (17.79).
- Oluchi Okananwa and Saylor Poffenbarger are third and fifth in the Big Ten in steals with 30 and 29 on the season. Yarden Garzon is leading the Big Ten and No. 15 in the country in threes made with 39. Addi Mack is No. 2 in the league in free throw percentage (91.2%).
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Maryland is ranked No. 7Â in the Associated Press poll released Dec. 22Â and No. 6 in the USA Today Sports WBB Coaches Poll released Dec. 30.
- The Terps were picked to finish second in the Big Ten, behind just UCLA. USC, Michigan and Ohio State rounded out the predicted top five.Â
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Seniors Yarden Garzon and Kaylene Smikle were named to the 10-player All-Big Ten Preseason Team by both the league's head coaches and media panel.Â
- Head coach Brenda Frese and her staff signed two transfers in All-Big Ten honoree Yarden Garzon (Indiana) and 2025 ACC Tournament Most Outstanding Player Oluchi Okananwa (Duke). The Terrapins also welcome freshmen Lea Bartelme, Addi Mack, Rainey Welson, Nicole Fritea and Marya Boiko to the roster.
- Maryland will play six teams ranked in the AP preseason poll - No. 3 UCLA, No. 13 Michigan, No. 18 USC, No. 21 Iowa, No. 23 Michigan State and No. 24 Kentucky. The Terps will also play six teams receiving votes in Washington, Ohio State, Princeton, Minnesota, Illinois and Nebraska.
- Maryland women's basketball is its 55th season and owns a record of 1,163-472 (.711). The Terrapins are No. 11 all-time in NCAA Division I history in winning percentage and No. 9 in all-time victories.
series history
- Maryland owns the series over Illinois, 17-1.
- Â The Illini took their only meeting last year, 66-65, in College Park on Feb. 2, 2025.
milestone and streaks
- Maryland has won the rebounding battle in 12Â of 14Â games this season. The Terps are 12-0 this year and 35-2 over the last two years when winning the rebounding battle.
- Over the last seven seasons, the Terps are 122-7 (94.6%) when they score 80 points or more. Â
- Over the last five seasons, the Terrapins are 89-8 when leading at the half. They are 31-3 over the last two years when leading at halftime.
- The Terrapins have won 42Â straight games when leading at the start of the fourth quarter. They are 78-1 over the last four seasons and 264-3 since they moved to quarters in 2015-16.Â
- The Terps are 107-4 over the last five seasons when leading with 5:00 to play.Â
- Maryland has won 27 straight non-conference games at home, dating back to Nov. 11, 2022. Â
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Maryland has three 1,000 point scorers (Smikle - 1,499, Garzon - 1,383, Poffenbarger - 1,040).Â
TERPS IN THE BIG TEN
Frese File
- Head coach Brenda Frese is in her 24th season in College Park. She's led the Terrapins to a record of 621-169 (.786), 14 conference titles, 21 NCAA Tournament bids in 23 postseasons, three Final Fours, seven Elite Eights, 12 Sweet Sixteens and the 2006 NCAA Championship.Â
- Frese owns a career record of 678-199 (.773) over her 27 years as a head coach.
- Frese was named National Coach of the Year by the AP, The Athletic and ESPN at the end of the 2020-21 season. In October 2021, Frese was the first woman inducted into the Washington DC Metro Basketball Hall of Fame.
- With the Terrapins' win at Nebraska on Feb. 14, 2021, Frese picked up win No. 500 at Maryland, which makes her the winningest coach in Maryland basketball history. Hall of Fame women's basketball head coach Chris Weller won 499 games in her 27 seasons (1975-02).
Terps in the Polls
- Maryland is one of the most consistent winning programs in the country.Â
- Maryland has been ranked for 330Â weeks in the last 22Â seasons, with 240Â of those weeks in the AP top 10 and 94Â in the AP top 5.
- Overall, the Terps have been ranked in 601Â AP polls, which puts them at fifth-most poll appearances all-time.
- Brenda Frese has had a team ranked in 382Â weeks in her career (374Â at Maryland), which is 10th among coaches all-time.
- Maryland has started the season ranked in the last 16Â seasons straight and 21Â of head coach Brenda Frese's 24Â seasons in College Park. The Terps have been in the AP Preseason Top 10 12 times under Frese and in the top five six times.
