After starting the season with 10 consecutive nonconference wins, No. 7 Maryland women’s basketball will receive its first taste of Big Ten play Sunday.
The Big Ten women’s basketball schedule is designed
so that each team will play a conference game in early December in the midst of its nonconference slate. For the Terps, that comes in the form of their first road game of the season against Minnesota.
Head coach Brenda Frese made it clear after Maryland beat Mount St. Mary’s on Wednesday: Sunday will be a different type of test for the Terps.
“There’ll be a lot of things we can show in film to be able to prepare us. It’s gonna be a really tough game, going on the road, playing in The Barn, very first Big Ten game,” Frese said. “We’re gonna have to play a lot better than we did tonight. Good thing for us is you have a day off and two days to prepare to get ourselves ready for that game.”
Tipoff from Williams Arena is slated for 4 p.m. and will broadcast on Big Ten Network.
Minnesota Golden Gophers (6-2, 0-0 Big Ten)
2024-25: 25-11, 8-10 Big Ten — WBIT Champions
Head coach Dawn Plitzuweit is in her third season at the helm of the program, and saw her squad improve from her first to second season. Minnesota was the WNIT runner-up in 2024 and WBIT champion in 2025. This is Plitzuweit’s 19th season as a head coach across five different programs.
This season, Minnesota is 5-0 at home. It has only dropped a road game at Kansas and a neutral-site contest to Alabama in the Bahamas. Neither opponent was ranked in the top-25 like the Terps are, but both are solid programs.
Minnesota has beaten USF, Samford, Manhattan, NJIT, North Dakota and Marquette. Those programs have combined for a 23-32 record this season.
Players to watch
Tori McKinney, sophomore guard, 6-foot-1, No. 14 — McKinney is in her second season with the Gophers and averages 13.2 points in six games this season — she did not appear in either game in the Bahamas, but played in Minnesota’s most recent game. Last season, she was named WBIT MVP, averaged 10.6 points per game and co-led the Gophers with 12 blocks.
Sophie Hart, graduate center, 6-foot-5, No. 52 — Hart is in her third season with the Gophers and is their primary big. She’s averaging 11.4 points and 6.5 rebounds on the season. She’s been a primary starter in all three of her seasons with Minnesota and continues to improve her output.
Grace Grocholski, junior guard/forward, 5-foot-10, No. 25 — Grocholski has been a top contributor for the Gophers across 80 games and three seasons with the program. She’s averaging 11.2 points, 4.9 rebounds and 2.8 assists per game this season. Last season, she was an All-Big Ten honorable mention after averaging 13.1 points, 4.9 rebounds and 3.0 assists.
Strength
Assist-to-turnover ratio. Minnesota averages 18 assists per game, while its opponents average 10.8 per game. The Gophers force 19.9 turnovers per game to go with 9.5 steals, while they only turn it over 10.8 times per game. Minnesota’s assist-to-turnover ratio is 1.8, compared to opponents’ 0.5. Maryland’s assist-to-turnover ratio is 1.1.
Weakness
Free throw shooting. Minnesota shoots 73% from the charity stripe and averages 10.5 made free throws per game. Overall, the Gophers have shot 84-of-115 from the free-throw line. Hart has had a difficult season from the foul line, going 7-of-14. Minnesota’s opponents have shot better from the free-throw line at 74.5%. Maryland’s free throw percentage is 77.2%, and makes 17.3 free throws per game.
Three things to watch
1. ACL issues. The program has suffered three separate ACL tears in the last calendar year. The first of those was Bri McDaniel, which came against Minnesota last season. Lea Bartelme and Ava McKennie will miss the remainder of the season, and McDaniel will likely return sometime during Big Ten play. How the Terps perform without these players will be something to monitor.
“These guys do [physical therapy] 24/7, you know, they’re unfortunate injuries. When you talk about kind of the sport, if you look around, how many injuries go on within the game, WNBA, college level,” Frese said. “These are high-level athletes that are playing an overly aggressive sport. But the great thing is, they’re going to be under great care with the doctors and the rehab that we have. We have some of the best [physical therapists] and doctors here, so they’re in good hands.”
2. Could the Big Ten provide challenges? The Terps have faced two power conference opponents this season in then-No. 16 Kentucky and Georgetown, along with some strong mid-majors. But the Big Ten is a different beast — Maryland went 13-5 in Big Ten play last season. The Terps are 14-1 all-time against the Gophers, but its only loss came in Minneapolis.
“We’re gonna have to play a lot better than what we did tonight. That’s a really good team on the road, and you can’t have 17 turnovers and some of the possessions that we had tonight,” Frese said Wednesday.
3. How will the bench be utilized? Frese has used her bench extensively in most of Maryland’s season-opening 10 wins. But she has seemed to shorten it against better competition. It will be intriguing to see how Frese approaches it against the team’s first Big Ten opponent.
