One Team, Many Nations: Maryland Women’s Basketball Honors Global Terps on International Night

This season’s women’s basketball roster boasts a unique blend of different cultures and backgrounds. Maryland will celebrate and honor its international Terps against Washington on Jan. 28.

“The world feels really big until you bring everyone onto a basketball team and you realize that there are a lot of similarities in everything we do,” assistant coach Kaitlynn Fratz said. “The ball bounces the same way, and you still set a screen the same way. There are some little nuances in international basketball, but not enough to change the game. You're still trying to score, and you're still trying to defend. When there's one common goal, regardless of where you're from, it can be a beautiful thing.”

Maryland’s roster features five international players from five different countries. Each of them has a unique path to College Park, but they’re all united through their love of basketball.

“It always helps having so many people from different places around me,” Israel’s Yarden Garzon said. “We learn about different cultures and languages. We all try to make it easier for everyone. Being able to represent our country and play here as Terps is amazing.”

Garzon has been one of Maryland’s most prolific scorers this season after transferring from Indiana. She’s been able to mentor some of the younger international players this season as they adjust to life as student-athletes in America.

“I remember what it was like when I was starting,” Garzon said. “So, I do what I can to make things easier for everyone. The staff also does an amazing job to make everyone feel comfortable and good on our team.”

Fratz is a part of that staff that’s looking out for every Terp, regardless of background or hometown. Recruiting is a team effort, but she’s played a significant role in Maryland’s international recruiting efforts during her tenure in College Park. 

“When you're sending your kid to the United States, understanding that we have the best resources for them and that they're going to have other teammates that are going to help them adapt to the environment and to the game helps,” Fratz said. “It all starts with Brenda and her overall philosophy of wanting the best players out there in the world to come to Maryland.” 

She continued. 

“That doesn't mean that we won't recruit our backyard, but we want to be open to the best basketball players, no matter where they’re from. Because she's been here a really long time, and people understand and trust her coaching and her ability to create a player and make them pro-ready, she's built a reputation that attracts talent from all over.”

The talent comes for the wins and finds a home through the community. Freshman forward Marya Boiko came from Minsk, Belarus, to play for Frese and found a group that cares for more than just her on-court production. 

“They’ve all spoken to me,” Boiko said. “At first, it was really hard, because I didn’t know any English. I couldn’t talk. I just listened. But now, it’s comfortable for me because I can talk with them and ask them anything, and they’ll talk to me.”

European basketball is often a beautiful blend of cultures, all playing on one floor with a common goal, so it’s not too much of an adjustment playing with this year’s Terps squad.

“Honestly, it feels like playing back home,” Isimenme Ozzy-Momodu said. “European-style basketball is different from American-style basketball, so I’m used to playing with people from different backgrounds. We also have things we can all relate to on and off the court.”

Ozzy-Momodu hails from London. She transferred to Maryland two seasons ago and was one of three international Terps on last year’s roster, along with Canadian Sarah Te-Biasu and Switzerland’s Emma Chardon. 

“Last year, we had Sarah and Emma,” Ozzy-Momody said. “We were a little group, ‘The Foreign Three,’ but adding more international players this year has been really nice.”

Fratz says the international Terps all vibe off one another. 

“Their European skill sets, their passing abilities, those different things merging in with the offense that we're trying to run work really well. Every year, Coach B does a really great job of morphing our offense into our players. We want to try to find the best possible basketball player and person out there that we can, and then we'll decide what needs to happen for us to come together from a strategic end.”

Freshmen forward Nicole Fritea and guard Lea Bartelme are two more European players on this year’s roster. The two hail from Arad, Romania, and Kisovec, Slovenia, respectively. Despite being thousands of miles from home, the program has helped the two ease seamlessly into the system. 

“Everyone has helped me with everything,” Fritea said. “When I need something, they’re here for me. They care about me, so it’s easy to feel at home.”

Basketball is all about unity: five players on a court working toward a common goal. Within the Terps’ program, unity and sisterhood start on the court and create a powerful flow on the hardwood. 

“Loving and caring for one another is a universal language, regardless of the language that you speak,” Fratz said. “Players know that we take care of you because of our actions, and we treat you as a human first. That's the culture of this program: whether you're from the United States or from around the world, we are going to care for you as a person first.”

Fratz continued, citing the huge adjustment to being away from home and not being able to access home on a weekend off. 

“We know some players have adapted to languages. Whatever that looks like, we're going to be there for you. When they understand that you're cared for as a person, then you’re going to give us the best that you have from a basketball end.”

When the Terps take on the Huskies, they’ll celebrate their five international student-athletes. Still, for Maryland’s global roster, it’s just another opportunity to show that talent exists all over the world and demonstrate basketball’s ability to connect anyone.

“I think it's great to be able to represent any country and the diversity we have, especially with a school that is extremely diverse as well,” Fratz said. "It's part of what makes up the human experience. Combining different players from around the world helps both on and off the court. Having different perspectives and being able to be supported by an organization and a university, just really lets everyone express who they are.”