Women's basketball was first organized to play on campus in 1923. The early teams participated solely in intracollegiate competition, with classes or sororities competing against each other for a trophy. The team was officially recognized as a varsity sport in 1971, and was led by coach Dottie McKnight during its first four seasons. The Terps were successful from the start, winning their first state championship in the 1972–73 season. They went on to win ten ACC championships and one NCAA title. On January 26, 1975, the Terps played host to Immaculata in the first nationally televised women's college basketball game. The game took place in Cole Field House. Some sources report that Immaculata won 80–48, while others report 85–63. On March 9, 2019, Maryland won its 1000th game, becoming the 14th team to win 1000 games. It did so at home against Michigan in the Big Ten Semifinals, which it won by a score of 73-72. The team has been led by three head coaches: Dottie McKnight, Chris Weller, and Brenda Frese. Although McKnight only coached four seasons of Terps basketball, she quickly led her new team to success. She left with a record of 44–17. Weller, a University of Maryland alumna and former Terps player, took over the head coaching position in 1975. She led the Terps to numerous national championship appearances and a total of eight ACC championship titles. When she retired, Weller left with a 499–286 record. At the end of the 2018–19 season, current coach Brenda Frese has a record of 458–124. She has also led her team to a national championship title, eight national championship appearances, and two conference championship titles. Frese is known for her recruiting skills, with Shay Doron being credited as her first major recruit.
Notable players
Many Terps have gone on to national prominence, appearing in the Olympics and playing in professional leagues.
Vicky Bullett, Olympian in 1988 and 1992; played in Italy for Bari and Cesena, in Brazil for the Data Control/Fluminense professional team, and for the WNBA's Charlotte Sting and Washington Mystics
Sonia Chase, played for the WNBA's Charlotte Sting
Alyssa Thomas, played for the WNBA's Connecticut Sun
Kristi Toliver, played for the WNBA's Chicago Sky, Los Angeles Sparks and Washington Mystics
2007–08 season
Head coach Brenda Frese announced during the pre-season that she was pregnant. Because of this, she was unable to coach from the sidelines for most of the regular season. Newcomer assistant coach Daron Park would take on the role of acting head coach. With the coaching changes, the Terps improved to a 30–3 record, and ranked 5 and 6 in the AP and Coaches polls respectively. Key returning players include Marissa Coleman, Laura Harper, Crystal Langhorne, and Kristi Toliver, all of whom were on the 2006 NCAA Championship team. With the loss of Shay Doron, whose #22 jersey was honored this season, Frese brought in 5 recruits. Two weeks after giving birth to twin boys, Frese returned to the sidelines during the ACC women's basketball tournament. Maryland eventually lost to Duke in the semifinals.
