NCAA WOMEN'S BASKETBALL CHAMPIONSHIP: REGIONAL 2 SEMIFINAL - MARYLAND VS SOUTH CAROLINA

March 28, 2025

Brenda Frese

Allie Kubek

Shyanne Sellers

Legacy Arena

Maryland Terrapins

Sweet 16 Postgame Media Conference

South Carolina 71, Maryland 67

THE MODERATOR: We are joined by Maryland Head Coach Brenda Frese and student athletes Shyanne Sellers and Allie Kubek. We will take questions for players after Coach makes an opening statement.

BRENDA FRESE: I'm really, really proud of this group. I thought they came out and you saw our players competed as hard as they have for forty minutes. I knew they would. We were this resilient all season long, going 10-1 on the road.

We wanted to pack the paint, battle on the glass, and I thought we did that to the very end. Just appreciate this group. It was such a journey with all of them starting all the way back when we brought ten new players in and every single one of them choosing to buy in and believe in this coaching staff and believe in the system.

So I know we're disappointed, because we felt like through the journey and through this game that we had a chance to be able to move on, but we hold our head high just given how we played tonight.

Q. A lot of tough baskets from MiLaysia, what was the thought on trying to limit her production?

ALLIE KUBEK: Obviously she is a crafty player, a great player. So we wanted to limit her touches and shadow her in transition. Of course she is a great player on South Carolina, so we just played solid defense on her. She is going to make tough shots because she is a good player.

SHYANNE SELLERS: Allie got it.

Q. Shyanne, what were you most proud tonight about the way you played, and as you think about your own journey what comes to mind about your personal journey as you get to this point?

SHYANNE SELLERS: Yeah, I think we executed the game plan to a tee, came down to we missed more free throws than we usually do and then a couple of stops at the end.

But ultimately I'm super proud of this group, proud of the way we fought. People thought we were going to get crushed by 20, I think we set the record straight to stop doubting Maryland again and, again.

Then through the course of my journey here, I've seen it all. I've been at one of the best programs in the country for four years. I'm grateful for my time here. I've made sisters for life, family for life and nothing is going to change once I go.

Q. Allie, can you reflect on the last few seasons at Maryland and your journey coming here and making a name for yourself?

ALLIE KUBEK: Yeah, I think growing up nobody thought I was going to go DI. So it's special to play here especially under Brenda, honestly. It's a dream come true. And kind of like Shy said, I've made sisters for life. People doubted us the entire year and us coming back and showing them we're a great team, it's really special for me and I know for the girls, too.

We had some people say we weren't going to make it out of the first round. I think coming here and proving them wrong is really special and especially with this group of girls. They're really great. It's been a blessing.

Q. Allie or Shy or both. What was the biggest challenge down the stretch trying to get stops as they starred to get rolling those last five minutes of the fourth quarter?

SHYANNE SELLERS: I think we had to do a better job of just containing it. I felt like they were taking really, really tough twos, got a couple of foul calls and sent them to the line which always helps. Came down to the end and we couldn't get a basket to go in, and they started getting fouls and they started making their free throws.

So everything we did and talked about doing was executed to a tee.

Q. Allie, you were having a positive impact on the game but obviously fouled out there late. How tough was that to watch the game from the bench?

ALLIE KUBEK: It's always tough to not be able to be on the floor and contribute with my team. At that point all you could do is cheer them on and give positive energy off the bench. But they held their own and I think they did a great job. So yeah.

THE MODERATOR: Ladies, thank you.

Q. Coach, they went on a 7-0 run with 3:25 left, talk about the difference on both ends for you guys.

BRENDA FRESE: Yeah, it was really impactful when we lost Allie. Those were some impactful calls that, you know, taking her off the court, being able to have that presence on both ends of the court. Obviously their speed, going coast to coast. I thought we ended up taking some tough shots that led to runouts that they were able to get easy scores. So kind of lost a little bit of our cool and our patience. I think we got fatigued. I thought their depth wore us out.

Q. Brenda, how did you try to adjust to Fulwiley's speed and what she was doing? I'm sure you had conversations about slowing her down.

BRENDA FRESE: Like you saw, nobody in the country has anyone to be able to match that kind of speed. We tried with Mir and she did everything she could but we were trying to corral her with two to three players, but you see her end-to-end speed. I thought she was no question the most valuable player in this game. When you talk about she played 20 minutes and 23 points. We had no answer for her. That's just how elite she is with her speed.

When she did take shots she was able to go get rebounds and put-backs and a very difficult match-up for anyone in the country to have to be able to guard.

Q. Brenda, you mentioned a couple of impactful calls with Allie, there were a couple other calls on review that maybe didn't go your way. Just wondering how much you feel like officiating affected the outcome of this game?

BRENDA FRESE: I'm not going to go there. You know, I've continued to play South Carolina in the past, but it was a very physical game. We got to the free-throw line quite a bit in the first half and then all of the sudden it changed in the second half. We got there two times? After getting there, you know, in the first half. So something changed.

I didn't think the way we were attacking getting to the rim and making plays. We just for whatever reason weren't able to get to the free-throw line and that's a big piece of who we are.

Q. Just this week in general the Alabama game, the short turnaround and coming here to overcome those things and play a great game. In what way can this experience be used as a building block or data point that can push the program forward into the offseason and next season?

BRENDA FRESE: Yeah, anytime you can keep advancing through the rounds and now with your rosters turning over so much the players that come back and gain that experience, and they're under the bright lights, and they don't feel the pressure when they come back next year.

Really proud of this group. When you look at the pressure they were under and even in the Sweet 16 game, they didn't even flinch. We believed we could win this game. We showed that we could win this game, and I think we gave a pretty good blueprint on how to beat South Carolina, to be quite honest, for the teams moving forward.

Q. I know it might be tough to reflect but as opposed to other teams you have been coaching, what were the intangibles or the identity of this team as opposed to others you've coached?

BRENDA FRESE: This one ranked right up there because there were so many highs to start the season out and the win streak we had, and then the lows through the adversity that we faced with all the injuries. Just to watch this team when it started back in Croatia to form with ten new players and to be able to go through all those highs and lows and to be able to trust the system, trust the coaching staff and really just continue to buy in and be able to take us, you know, to a Sweet 16.

So this one will no question, when you talk about -- rank right up there. You're never going to forget that Alabama game, and playing that game, and then having to turn around so quickly to come here and play South Carolina.

Q. Coach, what has Shy meant to this program, this team over her four years here after bringing in so many transfers and Shy bringing the culture back to Maryland?

BRENDA FRESE: Having a kid in your program for four years isn't the norm anymore, and Shy has been someone who has been incredibly loyal when you talk about her trust and her love for our program. I mean, she is a competitor. She is a person that we've been able to challenge throughout the course of her career, and she has risen to the occasion every single time. Just a special kid from a special family. I'm going to really miss her family. I've enjoyed the time that I've had with them, but just so grateful for how she has represented us for the past four years.

Q. Coach, obviously when you guys lost Bri McDaniel early on in the season, things went a little more poorly, but you guys bounced back and kept going and made it close against South Carolina here. What are your thoughts of the resilience of your team throughout the season?

BRENDA FRESE: Like I've shared with them, a lot of teams would have folded, after losing Bri. We went in that stretch, and we also lost Shy during that time, and between the two with Bri and Shy, we had top-10 opponents with Texas and UCLA and a lot of teams would have folded. I think there are so many great life lessons that I shared with the girls in the locker room.

You're going to have moments that you are going to go through high, highs and low, lows, and for them they can see how resilient they were through the course of the season and were able to come back out on top, and they will be able to do that in life.

THE MODERATOR: Coach, thank you.