Headed into the 2024-25 season, Isi Ozzy-Momodu was an incoming Maryland women’s basketball transfer alongside Christina Dalce. Head coach Brenda Frese and the coaching staff made a conscious decision to mesh their strong personalities.
“They made us roommates last year,” Ozzy-Momodu said. “That fueled the craziness between us.”
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While recovering from a torn ACL that season, Ozzy-Momodu’s job was to extend her personality to the rest of the team.
A main target was Sarah Te-Biasu, the breakout star of last year’s team.
“Sarah was very quiet. I would [see] that she would laugh in private,” Ozzy-Momodu said. “I’m like, she can’t be quiet and sitting up next to me because she was my locker buddy. I brought out her crazy side, too.”
Ozzy-Momodu’s ability to light up the room has helped her become a leader and change the team’s dynamic. Despite this being her first season on the court, her two years in College Park have helped mold the locker room.
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Dalce graduated after the 2024-25 campaign. With Ozzy-Momodu stepping into an increased on-court role — a similar one to Dalce’s — it’s her goal to make her attitude rub off on her teammates.
“[Isi is] a naturally loud person, which is a good thing in our case,” Kyndal Walker said. “She’s energy all the time … She’s a good leader for our team.”
Frese described her as “more excited about her teammates’ success than her own.” That mentality translates on and off the court.
Off the court, she likes to take her teammates on adventures, finding her ideas on TikTok. One example was bringing Te-Biasu, Walker and Ava McKennie on a roller-skating trip — where she admittedly fell over.
Ozzy-Momodu’s adventurous approach connects to her basketball journey.
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Ozzy-Momodu’s life in basketball was not in the cards at first. It took until her final year at the City of London Basketball Academy to decide that she wanted to play at the next level.
When Ozzy-Momodu originally took up basketball, it was an escape from her surroundings.
“I grew up in southeast London, one of the craziest parts of London,” Ozzy-Momodu said. “Around the time when I started basketball, it was really good because that was when gang wars were happening. I had basketball to keep me away from that.”
Ozzy-Momodu had two main basketball influences: her childhood coach, Jackson Gibbons, and her sister, Ire. The older Ozzy-Momodu also played college basketball, both with Robert Morris and Eastern Michigan. Ire’s basketball career was what Isi said “really influenced my basketball career.”
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Gibbons helped Ozzy-Momodu find a role in American junior college. She played at two of them before joining the Terps.
Ozzy-Momodu first went to Eastern Florida in 2022-23, where she won the conference title before falling in the NJCAA tournament.
But after a successful season, Ozzy-Momodu needed more competition. She discovered Gulf Coast State. With the Commodores, she experienced a breakout season, averaging 16.7 points and 11.6 rebounds. But her season ended abruptly with an ACL injury.
It was still time to make the jump to Division I regardless. And Brenda Frese made the call.
Missing all of last season added to Ozzy-Momodu’s journey and allowed her to completely assume her off-the-court leadership role. She’s been unafraid to reveal her personality to the world, doing postgame cartwheels, crazy dances and sometimes being introduced as the “Queen of London.”
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“I’m just very impulsive, I just do things,” Ozzy-Momodu said.
On the court, Ozzy-Momodu has also been impactful — she’s averaging 8.1 points and 6.7 rebounds as a full-time starter. Her energy has been a major asset in helping Maryland pick up its key wins this season.
But she’s also aided others in overcoming difficult times, and has preached taking a step back.
“When it gets too serious, that’s when I start to try to lighten the mood,” Ozzy-Momodu said. “Most of the time we’re too focused, that’s when we get into our heads… we just need to be ourselves at that point, which is calm and collected.”
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She knows when to turn it on and off, but her mentality is clear. Her success this season has been predicated on “laughs, positivity … just being funny.”
Maryland has had high highs and low lows this season, but one thing is clear — the vibe starts and ends with Ozzy-Momodu.
“If I’m in a bad mood, it’s going to be a bad practice, because my mood is very contagious,” Ozzy-Momodu said. “I just always try to make sure I cover with a positive attitude.”
