Guard Kristen Confroy looks for a way past the defense during the Terps 103-43 victory over Goldey Beacom on Nov 1, 2014 at Xfinity Center

Before Saturday’s exhibition with Goldey-Beacom College, the Terrapins women’s basketball team had scrimmaged twice against the scout team in the Xfinity Center. Freshman guard Kristen Confroy thought she had gotten rid of her nerves during those contests, but she struggled to settle in during the first half. 

Confroy went 0-for-3 from the field in the opening 20 minutes of play and was the only member of the team to not record any points in the first half. 

But the Ohio native found a groove in the second half and poured in 10 points while grabbing seven rebounds to round out a solid performance in a 103-43 rout over the Division II Lightning. 

“It’s so different with the uniforms and the pep-rally band and all the fans,” Confroy said.

Her impressive second half came while handling a role she isn’t accustomed to. The 5-foot-8 guard figured to play shooting guard with the Terps with a combination of guards Lexie Brown, Chloe Pavlech and Brene Moseley handling the helm of the offense. 

But coach Brenda Frese had her run the offense at times in the second half. 

“We put her at some backup point where she hasn’t played a lot of,” Frese said. “[She] was flawless, handled the ball, made great decisions, knocked down threes.”

Confroy is one of three true freshmen who made their debuts. Forward Aja Ellison and guard Kiara Leslie, who both missed significant time during their senior campaigns in high school, saw their first action with the Terps. 

Ellison finished with four points and tallied four blocks on the night. Leslie scored nine points while pulling down six rebounds  

“Kiara [Leslie] was really active rebounding the basketball,” Frese said. “Aja [Ellison] did a tremendous job running the floor, blocking shots and rebounding for us.”

The strongest debut came from a player who watched from the bench as the Terrapins women’s basketball team made a deep run in the NCAA tournament before falling in the Final Four to Notre Dame. Forward A’lexus Harrison had to have her appendix removed early in the season, so the Terps opted to redshirt her.

During Harrison’s first chance to demonstrate her skills in front of fans, she shined. Harrison poured in 12 points and tied the team-high with nine rebounds on the day. 

“She was a huge spark,” Frese said. “That is how she has been practicing so it was nice to be able to see her take that from practice into the game.”

The redshirt freshman was the first player Frese selected to come off the bench after the Terps had jumped out to an early 8-0 lead. Harrison poured in seven points in her first stint on the floor to extend the Terps’ run to 19-0 to start the game.

The Baltimore native finished the first half a perfect 5 of 5 from the floor and led the team with 11 points at the break. She added a pair of the Terps’ 10 first-half steals that contributed to 22 points off turnovers.

“What we know and what most people don’t know is how hard she has been working last year,” guard Shatori Walker-Kimbrough said. “She deserves everything she is getting cause we know how hard she’s been working.”

Harrison didn’t show the nerves that the other three freshmen displayed in the opening half, which allowed her to excel early. Still, Confroy, Ellison and Leslie settled in during the second half, and they won’t have to worry about the debut nerves moving forward. 

“I thought early they all played with some jitters but once they were able to settle down I thought they did a nice job,” Frese said.