Last season, with the Terrapin women’s basketball team sitting on the wrong side of the NCAA Tournament bubble, coach Brenda Frese and the Terps opted to spend Selection Monday in their locker room alone.

But after last year’s trip to the WNIT, things were back to normal on Selection Monday last night. Instead of putting up with junk food and solitude as they did last season, the Terps welcomed media, fans and boosters to Comcast Center, where the Terps learned they would return to the 64-team field as a No. 4 seed.

“This year, we’re not eating pizza in the locker room. We’re upstairs with our support and our team, and we’re heading back to somewhere we know we can be successful at,” a teary-eyed Lynetta Kizer said. “It’s kind of emotional for me today because I know everything everybody did to get here. It’s time to work.”

The No. 16 Terps landed in the East Regional and will host the first two rounds of the NCAA Tournament at Comcast Center. They open their NCAA Tournament slate against No. 13 seed St. Francis (Pa.), the Northeastern Conference champion.

And while the Terps will be heavily favored in their opening matchup with the Red Flash, their road to the Final Four will be anything but smooth. Should the Terps get past Saint Francis, they’d likely face No. 5 seed Georgetown in the second round. The Terps lost to the Hoyas, who will face No. 12 seed Princeton on Sunday, in their second game of the season, 53-45, on Nov. 16.

“We’ve got to take care of the first game Sunday, but we’re really looking forward to Georgetown,” guard Anjale Barrett said. “We played them [in the] second game of the season, so now we get to end their season.”

If the Terps can make it out of College Park, though, tougher challenges likely lie ahead. With top-seeded Connecticut heading the region, the Terps would almost certainly have to go through the two-time defending national champions to make it past the Sweet 16.

But Frese seemed more excited than concerned by that daunting challenge.

“I actually had the thought over the week, ‘Who would we put on [Connecticut All-American guard] Maya Moore?'” Frese said. “You want to play against the best. If we get to that point, UConn would be a phenomenal opponent for us to play.”

Second-seeded Duke and third-seeded DePaul round out the region’s top seeds.

Although the Terps have lost four of their past seven games, including a quarterfinal loss to Georgia Tech in the ACC Tournament, Frese’s players echoed her confidence.

“To be an elite team, you’ve got to play against elite teams,” Barrett said.

Added forward Alyssa Thomas: “Bring ’em on. Who doesn’t want to play UConn?”

As the Terps considered their immediate postseason future last night, they also pondered the year that had taken them to the brink of further March Madness. In transforming from a WNIT team to one of six ACC squads to earn a trip to the NCAA Tournament, the Terps have afforded themselves the chance to take yet another step toward re-establishing themselves among the nation’s elite.

But for now, the Terps will continue to do something they’ve grown all too accustomed to as they prepare for their first-round matchup with the Red Flash: wait.

“We haven’t had a game in a week,” Barrett said. “I feel like I’m going through withdrawals.”

cwalsh@umdbk.com