The Terps brought in seven new players in the offseason.
Maryland women’s basketball finished last season with its worst postseason result since 2010. Head coach Brenda Frese responded with a massive shakeup, bringing in seven players from the transfer portal, tied for the most in program history.
She now faces the difficult task of leading a team in which just under half of the roster will be joining from a different program, Division I or otherwise.
So, how will the transfers fit in?
Backcourt
The most intriguing new member of the backcourt is Sarah Te-Biasu, a 5-foot-5 point guard from VCU. Te-Biasu has all the makings of an instant fan-favorite. She is the smallest player on the team, but projects to play a large role as Maryland’s primary ball handler and starting point guard. Te-Biasu also won Atlantic 10 Player of the Year last season.
“[Te-Biasu] gives us a true, ultimate point guard,” Frese said at Media day.
The Terps also made a huge addition to their backcourt from within their own conference, picking up Kaylene Smikle from Rutgers. Smikle was one of the best freshmen in the conference two seasons ago, averaging 18 points per game and shooting 36.1% from deep.
Her production dipped slightly in 2023-24, and she missed about half of the season to injury, but she remained the Scarlet Knights’ best player when she was on the floor. Smikle should be a significant member of Frese’s rotation and currently projects as a fringe starter or one of the first options off the bench.
Smikle was Maryland’s leading scorer in its first exhibition game, dropping 21 points on 14 shots.
Additionally, Frese added Mir McLean, who began her career at UConn, where she played sparingly before transferring to Virginia. With the Hoos, she became a rotation player, averaging 12.2 points and 9.5 rebounds per game in the 2022-23 season. McLean missed all of last year with an injury.
She is an elite rebounding guard, and led the Terps with 15 boards in their first exhibition game against Seton Hill.
Frontcourt
Maryland’s lack of size in its front court was a problem last season, highlighted by its NCAA Tournament loss to Iowa State, in which it was outrebounded, 36-25. Frese added four front court players to help remedy the issue this season.
One of the more noteworthy players is Saylor Poffenbarger, who, like McLean, started her career at UConn, but didn’t see much playing time. Instead of Virginia, Poffenbarger transferred to Arkansas, where she became a starter and one of the Razorbacks best players. Over two seasons, she averaged 9.4 points and 9.1 rebounds per game and set the program’s single-season record for total defensive rebounds (225).
Poffenbarger is a Middletown, Maryland, native and played at Middletown High School.
“She’s our connector, she’s the one that kind of puts it all together,” Frese said. “We’re excited to have her back.”
Another front court presence Frese acquired is Christina Dalce. Dalce is a bonafide lockdown defender, winning Big East Co-Defensive Player of the Year last season at Villanova.
Dalce started for Maryland in its first exhibition match and struggled a bit offensively, turning the ball over five times. It is unclear whether she will retain her starting spot over Poffenbarger — who was hurt — but regardless, she will play an important role for the Terps in 2024-25.
Amari DeBerry, who came in from UConn, was the Terps’ biggest addition in the portal, quite literally. Standing at 6-foot-6, she will be far and away the tallest player on Maryland’s roster this season.
DeBerry never played more than eight minutes per game at UConn and will likely be a bench player for the Terps, but she gives Frese another option if she feels the team needs more size in certain matchups.
Potentially the biggest question mark out of all of Maryland’s transfers is Isimenme Ozzy-Momodu, who joined the Terps after playing at Gulf Coast State, a junior college in Florida. Ozzy-Momodu was a force there, earning third-team NJCAA All-American honors. She also provides some size at 6-foot-3, but lacks experience playing against Division I talent.
A native of England, Ozzy-Momodu suffered a torn ACL at the end of last season and is still working her way back.
Maryland’s transfers might carry as heavy a load in 2024-25 as any women’s basketball program in the country. Whether the newcomers are up for the task or not could decide the Terps’ season, which begins on Nov. 4 at UMBC.