Nearly a month after the Maryland women?s basketball team suffered a season-ending defeat to Stanford in the Elite Eight, the Terrapins are still dealing with losses.
Since the team returned home to College Park, Coach Brenda Frese watched two of her best players ?forwards Crystal Langhorne and Laura Harper ? get selected among the first 10 picks in the WNBA Draft. Then, Frese watched reserve guard Kat Lyons transfer and assistant coach Diane Richardson resign after one season.
“Change is something you have to get used to in college basketball,” Frese said. “We dealt with a lot of change last year when we had a number of our assistants leave for various reasons.”
Lyons proved to be one of the Terrapins? better outside shooters, as she made 15-of-25 three-point shots, but played in just 24 games and averaged 2.1 points. Her playing time diminished as the season progressed.
Lyons? prospects of playing more as a sophomore would have decreased with the return of senior Sa?de Wiley-Gatewood and freshmen Kim Rodgers and Anjale Barrett, who sat out last season due to injures.
“Kat was looking for an opportunity to play more and a college career is too short not to afford her that opportunity,” Frese said. “We wish her the best as she is a classy person”
Richardson leaves Maryland after one season after coming to College Park from American, where she was an assistant for a year. She made a name for herself locally as a head coach for six seasons at Riverdale Baptist in Prince George?s County.
“Diane has a wealth of knowledge in this sport and we wish her the best,” Frese said. “We?ve been through this before and we?ve already begun a search for a replacement.”
But Frese did receive some good news. Oregon prep star Jackie Nared signed a national letter of intent to play for the Terrapins next season. Nared, a 6-foot-1 senior at Westview High in Oregon, averaged 22 points and eight rebounds per game last season. Both of her parents are Maryland graduates and her father, Greg, played for the Terrapins men?s team from 1986-89. She joins center Lynetta Kizer and forward Demauria Liles in the Class of 2012.
“To have a late signing with the pedigree Jackie has is unbelievable,” Frese said. “It was a great find for us and she should fit in nicely with our other incoming players.”
