Terp women’s coach Brenda Frese and guard Shay Doron make their second straight NCAA tournament appearance Sunday against Wisconsin-Green Bay.

Seconds after the Terrapin women’s basketball team applauded its second-straight appearance in the NCAA tournament, ESPN showed the Terps’ likely second-round opponent: No. 2 Ohio State.

Cheers from the crowd turned to subtle rumblings, especially when ESPN ran a small feature on Buckeye center Jessica Davenport.

While many started looking toward a meeting with the Buckeyes, Terp coach Brenda Frese and her team knew they should not. They first will face No. 10-seed Wisconsin-Green Bay (27-3), a team some pundits believe could pose problems.

But one year after pulling off an upset of their own, the Terps are wary of each opponent.

“Our focus has got to be there,” senior guard Anesia Smith said.

The Phoenix shoot 38 percent from 3-point range, with five players shooting above 40 percent. The team commits just 12 turnovers per game, while forcing nearly 19. Two starters each average more than 13 points per game, in addition to two bench players who combine for 21 per game.

“They’re a very hard working team, they play a lot of zone,” Frese said. “They’re going to be very fundamentally sound. They don’t turn the ball over a lot. It will be a difficult match-up.”

To avoid an upset, the Terps must start with as much intensity they showed in ACC tournament wins against Clemson and N.C. State. When the Terps add emotion to their talent, like they did in an upset of North Carolina, they become too much for teams to handle.

“We just have to take everything in stride, because we know if we don’t come out executing, that’s going to be our last game,” freshman center Jade Perry said. “So we just have to go out and execute the first game.”

The Terps are motivated, especially after their loss in the ACC semifinals. It is unlikely they will come out flat, especially with three starters back from last year’s NCAA tournament.

“We’re going to have the experience with Shay [Doron], Kalika [France] and Anesia this year coming into the tournament. We expect their leadership to be able to guide this young team,” Frese said. “You know if you don’t win the first one you don’t continue on. I think they see what’s ahead, but at the same point we’ll get them focused in terms of just one game at a time.”