The Terrapins women’s basketball team’s Final Four appearance may be new to its players, but it’s a feeling that brings back memories for Brenda Frese, who coached the Terps during their national championship run in 2006.

The team’s trip to Boston for the 2006 Final Four was Frese’s first, as she guided a young squad that with one upperclassman in its starting lineup. Eight years later, the 12th-year coach and the Terps return to the national spotlight with a different look. Their three starting seniors anchor the roster, while three freshmen have also provided significant contributions throughout the year.

Still, for Frese, the similarities between the current team and the 2006 squad are easy to see.

“When you look at the similarities, we have scoring at every position and we have rebounding,” Frese said on Thursday.

Both teams score more than 80 points per game and average more than a plus-11 rebounding margin. In 2006, each of the Terps’ starters averaged more than 10 points. This season, they have only two players in the staring lineup — forward Alyssa Thomas and guard Lexie Brown — scoring more than double-digits, but get more scoring off the bench.

Though Frese doesn’t have a starting rotation where each player can potentially take over game like they used to, the current team allows 61.9 points per game, 3.1 points less than its 2006 average.

“I actually think this team maybe defends even better than the ’06 team,” Frese said. “I think defensively, this team is really, really strong.”

Still, Frese has a close connection with the Terps national championship winning squad. Kristi Toliver, former guard, came back to College Park from Russia to congratulate Frese on Wednesday and forward Marissa Coleman also visited her office.

Despite the similarities and differences, the Terps’ former stars will hope the current team can accomplish the same thing they did eights years ago.

“It’s been phenomenal,” Frese said. “Just a lot of alum just how excited they are for us to be in the Final Four.”