Maryland coach Brenda Frese confronts guard Oluchi Okananwa during NCAA tournament loss to North Carolina
Authored by prc-ayxsports.net, 23-03-2026
Maryland Terrapins women's basketball coach Brenda Frese had a heated sideline exchange with guard Oluchi Okananwa during a 74-66 loss to the North Carolina Tar Heels in the second round of the NCAA Division I women's basketball tournament on March 22, 2026, in Chapel Hill, North Carolina.
The incident occurred in the third quarter after Okananwa turned the ball over, missed three free throws and a layup. Frese met Okananwa nose-to-nose on the sideline as she came off the floor. Maryland entered as the No. 5 seed against the No. 4-seeded Tar Heels.
Okananwa led Maryland with 21 points, six rebounds and two steals but committed six turnovers.
"I believe in you, but you got to want this moment," Frese said to Okananwa during the exchange.
Postgame, Okananwa expressed support for the coaching style. "Coach understands I’m a competitor at heart," she said. "I’ve told her this before, and I’ll keep on telling her this forever. I love to be coached hard. That’s what she does with me every single day."
Frese, who has coached Maryland since the 2002-03 season after stops at Ball State and Minnesota, described the relationship as key to tough conversations.[1] "It’s always been a pulse that I’ve been able to have with individuals and players," she said. "The best of the best, the elite of the elite, want to be coached hard."
Okananwa, a guard in her second season with the Terrapins after transferring from Duke, averaged 17.7 points, 5.4 rebounds and 2.1 assists per game during the 2025-26 regular season. She earned All-Big Ten honors that year.[2]
The game took place at the Dean E. Smith Center in Chapel Hill.[3]
Sources
- University of Maryland Athletics. "Brenda Frese - Women's Basketball Coach." Accessed October 2024. https://umterps.com/sports/womens-basketball/roster/coaches/brenda-frese/1448
- University of Maryland Athletics. "Oluchi Okananwa - 2024-25 - Women's Basketball." Accessed October 2024. https://umterps.com/sports/womens-basketball/roster/oluchi-okananwa/4640
- Wikipedia. "Dean Smith Center." Accessed October 2024. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Dean_Smith_Center