The word of the day at the Terrapin women’s basketball team’s media day yesterday was definitely “fun.”
From the very beginning of her season-opening press conference, head coach Brenda Frese made her team’s philosophy for this season very clear.
“This year, for obvious reasons, is about having twice as much fun,” said a visibly pregnant Frese.
The motto is a play on Frese’s twins who are due in March, but also is about making up for last season, in which the Terps fell short of most of their goals.
During the event, which lasted about 90 minutes, several players stressed the importance of staying loose and having fun this season, something they struggled to do at times when trying to defend their national championship last season.
Several Terps admitted to feeling the added pressure last season, and after being upset by Mississippi in the second round of the NCAA tournament in March, the Terps vowed yesterday to simply have more fun this time around.
“Last year as a group, as a whole, we did not have as much fun as we should have, or as we were expecting to,” said junior guard Kristi Toliver. “This year, above all, it’s not Xs and Os stuff; we know we have the talent. I think it’s just having fun with one another on the floor.”
The players already seemed relaxed and loose yesterday during their informal interviews on the floor of the arena. Before taking the team picture, players were horsing around as the photographer rearranged where some players were going to sit.
“We know what it feels like to lose, and we know what it feels like to win,” said senior forward Laura Harper. “We’re going to find a happy medium and do what it takes to win again and not stress out anymore.”
In her press conference that lasted slightly less than 20 minutes, Frese answered questions about everything from her announcement to the team this summer that she’s pregnant to the Terps hosting the first two rounds of the NCAA tournament at Comcast Center next March to whatever might happen in between.
She discussed how her team leaders spent the summer, as senior center Crystal Langhorne and Harper both played on Under-21 U.S. National Team, junior forward Marissa Coleman played on the U.S. Pan American team, and Toliver went to Point Guard College in her hometown of Harrisonburg, Va.
Frese also talked about how impressive freshmen Drey Mingo and Marah Strickland have been in the first weeks of practice, and the smooth transition new assistant coaches Daron Park and Diane Richardson have made to the program.
But most importantly, she stressed the importance of everybody working hard together and having a good time.
“I thought we missed out on some of the fun last year that we should have had,” Frese said. “I want to make up for it.”
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