NCAA tournament preview

NCAA TOURNAMENT PREVIEW

‘IN THE PRECIOUS MOMENT’

The early part of Brenda Frese’s coaching career was filled with changes of address and moves from program to program. But now in her 12th season as Terrapins women’s basketball coach, Frese has found stability — along with great success — in College Park.

By Paul Pierre Louis @PaulPierreLouis Staff writer

F

ive years after she led her high school team to its first Iowa state championship, Brenda Frese’s basketball playing career was over. Foot i nju ries ha mpered her at Arizona, and she needed four surgeries. Even after redshirting, she couldn’t complete a fourth season of eligibility. At 23 years old in 1993, Frese was forced to move on from playing. For an intense competitor, it wasn’t

supposed to end so soon. And yet the timing was perfect. Frese still spent most of her time with the game that year at nearby P i m a Com mu n ity Col lege i n Tucson, Ariz. She scouted opponents and visited recruits as assistant coach of the women’s basketball team, and soon, the undergraduate started running practices by herself, CONTINUED ON P. 2