Brenda Frese spoke in a grave tone: “The media is going to find out.”

As the Terrapins women’s basketball coach’s concern grew more visible with each sentence, Alyssa Thomas, who normally sports an even-keeled expression, suddenly became anxious.

“We collectively have to make a decision how you want to handle it,” Frese said. “If you want me to call your parents or if you want to call your parents.”

But her parents already knew. So as the two stood face-to-face in a quiet Comcast Center on a Tuesday afternoon, Frese handed Thomas a white envelope that contained the news.

Thomas, who has garnered a reputation as a prankster, was on the receiving end of the joke this time. The purpose? To tell her she will be honored as one of the best players in program history when the team hangs her jersey in the rafters after its Senior Day game against Virginia Tech on Sunday.

All while frightening the Terps forward a little bit.

“The way Coach B set it up, she kind of scared me,” Thomas said. “I was just at a loss of words. Just a huge honor, and I couldn’t be more thankful.”

As one of eight All-Americans and the only two-time ACC Player of the Year in program history, Thomas will become the ninth player to have her jersey honored, joining members of the Terps’ starting unit that won the 2006 national championship and other past greats.

The myriad records she broke this season has added to her legacy. Most recently, Thomas became the Terps’ all-time double-doubles leader in the game against Georgia Tech on Sunday. With one game remaining before Thomas’ final postseason run, she is 34 points and 75 rebounds away from becoming the Terps’ all-time leading scorer and rebounder.

Her mother, Tina Klotzbeecher-Thomas, still remembers having to drag the shy 5-year-old girl from Harrisburg, Pa., onto the basketball court. Thomas eventually warmed up to the sport, and after years of memorable plays, games and accomplishments, the court she dreaded as a youngster will soon be commemorating her legacy.

“You never expect your kid to have their jersey hanging in the rafters,” Klotzbeecher-Thomas said. “She’s worked so hard at everything she’s done, and she’s being honored for it.”

QUIET, YET POWERFUL

Coming to College Park, Thomas didn’t garner attention as an outgoing personality or vocal leader. Quiet and unassuming, the freshman’s muscular 6-foot-2 frame did all of the talking.

Once she began powering her way to the hoop for layups and grabbing rebounds, however, those around the sport, such as basketball analyst Debbie Antonelli, began to take notice of the young standout.

“I couldn’t believe how strong and what a great basketball body she had,” Antonelli said. “And I couldn’t believe how soft-spoken her words were.”

Thomas led the team in scoring her first season with the Terps, winning ACC Rookie of the Year. But she was poised to add more to her game than just rebounding and scoring in the paint. During the next two seasons, Thomas won ACC Player of the Year twice and became one of the most dangerous midrange threats in the nation.

“I was always power, power, get to the rim,” Thomas said. “But now I can stop and pull up on people.”

As a sophomore, her game-winning turnaround jumper with 17 seconds left against Georgia Tech on Jan. 6, 2012 capped a second half in which Thomas scored 18 points in the final 18 minutes. Two days later, she split two defenders and hit a reverse layup at the buzzer at North Carolina to send the game into overtime, where the Terps sealed the win. And on Feb. 19, 2012, she swatted Duke forward Haley Peters’ last-second shot attempt to secure a 63-61 victory against the Blue Devils.

She averaged 17.2 points and eight rebounds per game that season, leading the Terps to their 10th ACC tournament title game, in which Thomas scored a then-career-high 29 points and the Terps won.

After Thomas’ sophomore year ended with a loss in the Elite Eight, a Final Four appearance looked to be the next step for her and the Terps. But injuries decimated their backcourt, and their depth suffered. Thomas averaged a career-high 34.2 minutes per game and played nearly every position on the court, including substantial time at point guard.

“Playing point guard last year helped me with ballhandling and being able to just get the ball and go,” Thomas said. “Playing different positions helps you add different pieces to your game.”

The Terps’ injury woes hampered their postseason run, which ended in the Sweet 16. Thomas led the ACC in points, rebounds and assists, becoming the only player in NCAA or WNBA history to average more than 18 points, 10 rebounds and five assists in a season.

Her physical prowess remains the foundation of her game, but her improvements have made her even more valuable to the Terps.

Thomas quote 1

“She can do those things that I said about seeing the defense and reading offense and making other players better,” Antonelli said. “She has expanded her game and expanded Maryland’s opportunity.”

‘A NIGHTMARE TO GAME-PLAN FOR’

After No. 1 Connecticut beat the Terps on Nov. 15, Huskies coach Geno Auriemma joked about his strategy to contain Thomas during the postgame news conference.

“Our goal was to let her get her 30 in the first half, and then see if we could shut her out in the second half,” Auriemma said.

In actuality, the legendary coach wanted to prevent her from slashing into the lane, so the team backed off when she had the ball, inviting her to take jump shots.

It took 10 seconds for Thomas to score. She sank a jumper from just behind the free-throw line. About a minute later, a 3-pointer — considered the missing piece of her game — fell through the net. When she hit another 2-pointer moments later, it became apparent Auriemma’s game plan was backfiring.

Thomas finished the first half with a double-double — 14 points and 10 rebounds — against the defending national champions. Auriemma, like many coaches this season, admitted there was little he could do to slow her down.

Thomas quote 2

“She just disrupts your defense,” Auriemma said. “She’s so big. She’s so strong. She’s so athletic. And we tried a couple people on her, and I don’t know if one person can defend Alyssa Thomas.”

Antonelli described the well-rounded skill set Thomas possesses as “a nightmare to game-plan for.”

After improving her mid-range game, passing and ballhandling in her first three years at College Park, Thomas has combined all of those skills for her senior year. Her four triple-doubles are the most in the country, and she’s one away from tying the NCAA’s single-season and career marks in triple-doubles.

After Thomas grabbed a rebound during her latest triple-double, against Florida State on Feb. 20, she spotted guard Lexie Brown sprinting upcourt and launched a full-court pass that landed in the guard’s hands for an easy layup, one of Thomas’ career-high 12 assists that night.

It’s those plays that overwhelm opposing coaches entering matchups.

Thomas quote 3

“She’s just so good with the ball. She’s good without the ball. She’s good on the inside. She’s good on the outside,” Seminoles coach Sue Semrau said after the game. “You got a kid that can power inside and a kid that can pass it like that. She’s a special, special player.”

COMING OUT OF HER SHELL

As an associate head coach at Notre Dame, Jonathan Tsipis tried to recruit Thomas back when she was soft-spoken forward at Central Dauphin High School in Harrisburg, Pa. Now in his second year as coach at George Washington, Tsipis remembers being impressed by how the once-shy high school prospect blossomed into a leader as a senior with the Terps.

Thomas quote 4

“She’s demanding her teammates get better,” Tsipis said after his Colonials faced the Terps in November. “And that, to me, is a sign of somebody that wants to take a team further than they’ve gone before since she’s been here.”

Throughout her career, Thomas often led with her talent but didn’t take the role as the vocal leader. But in her time with the Terps, she gradually became more outspoken and began to act as the team leader, something Frese calls “a dream come true.”

Though Thomas will be mentioned in the same breath as the Terps starters from their national championship season, she still doesn’t have an NCAA title, the last accolade left for her to achieve. Three starters from the 2006 team — Crystal Langhorne, Kristi Toliver and Marissa Coleman — became All-Americans, however, while Thomas’ teams haven’t had as much acclaim.

“Alyssa didn’t get to play with anyone like that, so that makes her different than those five that are up there,” Antonelli said. “Alyssa has done what she’s done mostly individually, which is so impressive to think.”

Thomas’ leadership has played a vital role in her individual and team accomplishments. Her talent combined with her guidance on the court has helped her take the Terps further than expected, and she looks to lead the team for her final chance at another deep postseason run.

“It’s one and done, so it’s got to be your best games every night,” Thomas said. “So just got to turn it up an extra level.”

But before she makes her last playoff push, Thomas will watch her No. 25 jersey unfurl from Comcast Center’s rafters, marking another milestone in her illustrious career.

Plus, she still plans on getting revenge after Frese’s sneaky prank.

“I’m working on something,” Thomas said. “But I’m definitely going to get her back.”