No. 20 Maryland women’s basketball will open its season in the Oui-Play double-header in Paris, France, on Monday.
Maryland was one of only four teams chosen to play overseas, alongside No. 21 Oklahoma, No. 1 South Carolina and No. 12 North Carolina. Head coach Brenda Frese said it was an “incredible opportunity.”
The “high-level exposure” Maryland intends to get from Oui-Play is extremely important to the Terps, she said.
The last time Maryland women’s basketball advanced to the Sweet Sixteen, it played
South Carolina. The Gamecocks knocked the Terps out of that 2025 tournament, 71-67. Now, they’ll face off in the first game of the season in Oui-Play at Adidas Arena in Paris.
The game will air on ESPN at 12 p.m. EST.
No. 1 South Carolina Gamecocks (0-0, 0-0 SEC)
2025-26 record: 36-4, SEC Tournament finalist, NCAA semifinalist
Head coach Dawn Staley returns for her 18th season at the helm of South Carolina women’s basketball after reaching both the SEC and NCAA tournament finals last season.
Players to watch
Joyce Edwards, junior forward, No. 8 — As a sophomore last season, Edwards broke seven South Carolina records:
- Points scored in a season (768)
- 20-point games in a season (22)
- 10-point games in a season (37)
- Minutes played in a season (1,222)
- Games started in a season (40)
- Games played in a season (40)
- Points scored in a season of SEC games (289)
There’s not much else to say about one of the country’s best players.
Tessa Johnson, senior guard, No. 5 — Johnson enters her fourth season with the Gamecocks after averaging 12.8 points per game last year while breaking the program record for most three-pointers after making 90 shots from beyond the arc. She also notched 24 steals, the most of a returning Gamecock. The Minnesota native also shot a team-best 82.7% from the free-throw line last season.
Chloe Kitts, graduate forward, No. 31 — Kitts returns after sitting out last season due to ACL surgery. The forward enters her final season of eligibility after three years with the Gamecocks, where she averaged 8.1 points, 5.8 rebounds and 1.4 assists. On Thursday, Kitts was named to the Naismith Trophy preseason watch list alongside Edwards and Johnson.
Strength
Shooting. The Gamecocks are incredibly accurate from virtually anywhere on the court. Across field goals, three-pointers and free throws, South Carolina shot 50%, 37% and 73%, respectively last season; its opponents only went 34%, 28% and 71% on those same metrics.
Weakness
Nothing. Not to be coarse, but this will be an uphill battle for the Terps as they face the Gamecocks, who haven’t fallen off of the AP poll since December 2012. Last season, South Carolina dominated its collective opponents by leaps and bounds in almost every category – even in average fan attendance. Maryland is entering this game as the undeniable underdogs.
Three things to know
1. Staley and the Gamecocks have the historical edge. The first year of Staley’s tenure at South Carolina – 2008 – was also the first time the Terps played the Gamecocks. Since then, Maryland has only won two of the nine matchups.
2. Oui-Play gives international athletes a homecoming. Maryland’s international players like Lea Bartelme are excited to travel closer to their home countries.
“The flight [from Slovenia] is only like one and a half or two hours,” Bartelme said before the season began. “My family is going to be there, so that’s really great.” The Slovenian guard was knocked out of the 2025-26 season after tearing her ACL in a game against Loyola (Md.). That marked the last time Bartelme’s family were able to see her play.
3. Adidas Arena is familiar territory for the Gamecocks. While this marks Maryland’s first time playing overseas, South Carolina played in the inaugural Oui-Play game in 2023, where they defeated Notre Dame, 100-71.
