CHAPEL HILL, N.C. — Maryland women’s basketball coach Brenda Frese calmly shook Murray State head coach Rechelle Turner’s hand before celebrating with her team Friday afternoon.
For the Terrapins, the 99-67 win punched their ticket to the second round of the NCAA Tournament. For Frese, it was simply another step in a career that has quietly become one of the most accomplished in women’s college basketball history.
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When conversations turn to the sport’s most influential coaches, names like Dawn Staley, Kim Mulkey and Geno Auriemma often dominate while Frese’s résumé gets overlooked. But year after year, the Maryland head coach continues to add to her legacy.
Now in her third decade leading the Terrapins, Frese has built the program into one of the most consistent in the country, highlighted by a national championship in 2006. Leading Maryland to 16 consecutive NCAA Tournament appearances is a feat in itself, but Frese’s impact extends beyond the wins and tournament appearances.
“She’s one of the reasons why I came to play for Maryland,” junior guard Oluchi Okananwa said of her coach. “The way that she’s able to just stay level-headed and calm, because they’ve done this before.”
With at least one tournament win in 15 of the last 16 seasons, Frese has always done a great job preparing her teams for March.
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“We’re in tune to our process,” Frese said Saturday. “We understand it’s a marathon, not a sprint, and we want to be peaking in March.”
Frese’s coaching experience will be tested Sunday against a familiar regional opponent in North Carolina.
The Tar Heels have built momentum of their own, setting up a matchup between two programs who each hope to make a deep postseason run.
Since Maryland left the ACC for the Big Ten in 2014, the Terrapins and Tar Heels will meet for the first time. Frese still holds an 11-12 record as a head coach when facing North Carolina, with no win being bigger than in the 2006 Final Four, where the Terrapins defeated the Tar Heels 81-70.
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Sunday’s game won’t be Frese’s first time coaching against North Carolina head coach Courtney Banghart either. When Banghart was at Princeton, she led them to a historic 31-1 season. The team’s only loss that season came against Maryland in the second round of the 2015 NCAA Tournament.
“What Brenda has done, consistency in this business is really hard,” Banghart said Friday. “The fact that she’s been able to be so loved at Maryland and win so many games consistently is remarkable.”
With another NCAA Tournament run underway and another challenge waiting Sunday, the Maryland head coach is doing what she has done for years: Preparing her team for the next game while quietly strengthening her legacy.
Carter Braun is a student in the University of Georgia’s Carmical Sports Media Institute.
This article originally appeared on USA TODAY: How Brenda Frese built one of the great women’s basketball programs at Maryland
