Terrapins women’s basketball coach Brenda Frese has said throughout the season that she wants to extend her bench, and the Terps’ dominant win over Indiana on Jan. 30 provided a look at the potential of the team’s reserves.
While guard Brene Moseley and forward Tierney Pfirman are regular contributors off the bench, averaging 11.8 and 8.6 points per game, respectively, freshmen Kiah Gillespie and Brianna Fraser stepped up against the Hoosiers. Both McDonald’s All-Americans in high school, the duo combined to score 15 points in 24 minutes.
“Our freshmen are growing and getting better,” Frese said after the No. 6 Terps’ 86-63 win. “They really contributed and gave us some really good minutes.”
But Gillespie and Fraser, along with sophomore guard Kiara Leslie, have seen limited playing time in the five games since, most of which came against teams near the top of the conference standings. Wednesday’s home tilt with Michigan, though, provides the trio a chance to crack the rotation entering the final stretch of the regular season.
“I want to extend it. We need to extend it,” Frese said after the Terps’ win over then-No. 17 Michigan State on Feb. 5. “Anytime you go on the road like Purdue, and then you play a team like Michigan State, there’s very little room for error, so you have to understand you have to be ready to play when your number is called.”
Gillespie played well in limited minutes against the Spartans, scoring five points in six minutes. Leslie logged two minutes in the victory, while Fraser didn’t play. It was the lone game this season in which the 6-foot-3 forward failed to see the court.
The trend continued in a road loss to No. 5 Ohio State three days later, as Leslie played the most minutes (eight) among players outside of the Terps’ (23-3, 12-2 Big Ten) typical seven-player rotation. Leslie, who started seven games early in the season, has not played more than 20 minutes since Jan. 2.
Still, the Terps’ starters recognized the importance of the bench with postseason play approaching.
“The freshmen had great minutes and sort of keeping them involved,” center Malina Howard said after the team’s loss to the Buckeyes. “And [Pfirman] came off the bench, and she had an amazing game.”
After going 1-for-3 from the field in two minutes against the Buckeyes on Feb. 8 , Fraser is the lone player to see an uptick in her playing time.
The Brooklyn, New York, native played 16 minutes against Purdue on Thursday for her second-highest mark in 14 conference games, and she followed that up with three points in 10 minutes Sunday against Northwestern.
Gillespie contributed against the Boilermakers, too, posting two points, three rebounds and one block in the first quarter. She finished the game with nine minutes after combining to play 12 over the previous three contests.
In the postgame news conference, Frese acknowledged the performances of both rookies, stating they’re “coming along” with four regular-season games left.
It remains tough for Gillespie to significantly increase her playing time, Frese said, because of the talent the Terps have in front of her. Center Brionna Jones and Howard are two-year starters, averaging 25.1 and 20.7 minutes per game, respectively. The veteran coach also said Gillespie must improve her defense, as she committed three fouls in limited action against Purdue.
But Wednesday’s bout with the Wolverines (15-10, 7-7) is another opportunity to showcase her development.
“These guys have more experience,” Frese said. “But we’ve got to have her in terms of the depth, and she’s definitely been working hard, watching film and trying to help us.”
