Had you asked Brenda Frese in October whether 31 wins, an ACC Championship and an Elite Eight appearance would be an acceptable result for her Terrapins women’s basketball team, what would she have said? Would she have been disappointed that her team missed making the Final Four? Or would she have been thrilled with the outcome?
For the longtime coach, it’s somewhere in between.
“With this young team,” Frese said yesterday, “I would have absolutely taken it.”
Featuring a roster loaded with raw talent, this year’s Terps were Frese’s most accomplished squad in recent memory. They opened the 2011-12 season with 16 straight wins. They finished the season with only five losses, four of them against teams ranked in the nation’s top eight. Their No. 5 national ranking, ACC title and Elite Eight run were all highwater marks for the program since its 2009 campaign.
Yet for all their success, the Terps’ season still ended in disappointment. A bid to reach their first Final Four since 2006 was erased by a season-ending 80-49 loss to Notre Dame in the regional final a week ago.
The sting of that loss should linger into the offseason. But with four returning starters and four new faces joining the Terps on the court in Comcast Center next season, Frese already has high expectations for the 2012-13 season.
“Our offseason will be motivated by our last loss. We were punished in that last game. If that doesn’t put a fire in your belly in terms of preparing for next season, what would?” Frese said. “It’s exciting, obviously, to think about the future and what we’re able to accomplish this year going into next.”
Led by ACC Player of the Year and first-team All-America forward Alyssa Thomas, the Terps’ quartet of returning starters should make up arguably one of the most dangerous lineups in the country.
Thomas led the conference in scoring with 17.2 points per game. Second-team All-ACC forward Tianna Hawkins – one of two seniors on next season’s team – led the nation in field-goal percentage (62.8). Guard Laurin Mincy was one of the team’s most proficient outside shooters, knocking down 40 percent of her shots from beyond the arc and blossoming into a clutch performer in March. Center Alicia DeVaughn led the team with 45 blocks.
The fifth starting position will likely go to point guard Brene Moseley, who averaged 6.9 points and 2.7 assists in a reserve role as a freshman this season.
“They have tremendous experience, when you talk about our young players, having the Elite Eight finish and winning the ACC Championship,” Frese said. “The sky is the limit.”
The team will have to contend with some departures, though. Guards Anjale Barrett and Kim Rodgers, both of whom have been with the program for the past five years, and center Lynetta Kizer will all graduate, leaving the Terps without three of their most vocal leaders.
Barrett started every game at point guard and Kizer was instrumental off the bench for the Terps, winning the ACC Sixth Player of the Year award. Rodgers was slowed early in the season by a chronic knee injury, but flourished as a defender and 3-point-specialist in postseason play.
“[The seniors] have been to two Elite Eights, two ACC Championships and we’re champions in our own right,” Rodgers said after the loss to Notre Dame. “It’s not fun having to sit here and say we didn’t get to the Final Four. But I think we accomplished a lot and we’re leaving a lot of good stuff for these underclassmen to move forward with next year.”
Helping to replace the three departing seniors will be the nation’s sixth-best recruiting class, featuring Twinsburg, Ohio, forward Malina Howard – the nation’s No. 7 overall recruit, according to Hoopgurlz – Cincinnati guard Chloe Pavlech and Williamsport, Pa., forward Tierney Pfirman.
“Malina has the biggest opportunity, with the absence of Lynetta Kizer, to fill a huge void. Tierney and her versatility – she’s going to be able to play multiple positions,” Frese said. “Chloe is going to be able to help us in a lot of spots, whether it be in the point guard or off-guard position.
“I expect all three are going to play and have a big impact.”
Xavier transfer Katie Rutan will also join the Terps’ rotation next season. The guard scored eight points per game in two seasons with the Musketeers, averaging more than two 3-pointers per game. She redshirted this season due to NCAA transfer rules.
“She’s a lights-out shooter, she can bring a tremendous spark to our team and she brings a wealth of experience,” Frese said. “She’s been at the highest level, she’s been on a top-10 team – her veteran leadership is going to be huge for our team.”
The Terps had visions of being among the last four teams standing at Denver’s Final Four this season. They fell 31 points short of that goal.
But with ample firepower returning and a group of talented newcomers ready to make their mark, this season’s Elite Eight run might only be a prelude to the heights the Terps can reach in the future.
“With the chemistry that we all had this season, we’re just going to come back, work hard this summer and hopefully get here next year,” Mincy said after the loss to Notre Dame. “We can go pretty far.”
vitale@umdbk.com
