Fiery Maryland coach Brenda Frese was seen screaming in the face of star player Oluchi Okananwa in a passionate moment during their March Madness loss to North Carolina.
Frese’s Terrapins were dumped out of the women’s NCAA Tournament on Saturday by the Tar Heels, who ran out 74-66 winners in Chapel Hill.
After she recorded just six points in the opening 20 minutes, Okananwa appeared to receive a brutal grilling up close from her coach, who was spotted shouting furiously while tapping her player’s chest and then giving her a pat on the shoulder.
However, the Maryland guard revealed in her postgame press conference that her coach’s words were purely motivational.
‘Coach understands I’m a competitor at heart,’ Okananwa said. ‘I’ve told her this before and I’ll keep on telling her this until forever: I love to be coached hard. And that’s what she does with me every single day.
‘And really, what that was was a re-group moment for myself and her telling me she believed in me, because sometimes that’s all you need to hear to get back out there.
Maryland coach Brenda Frese was seen screaming in the face of one of her star players
But Terrapins guard Oluchi Okananwa revealed Frese was trying to motivate her at the time
‘It’s a long game, lots of ups and downs, and I feel like after that conversation, that’s when I really went back out and just did what I had to do for my team in that moment. So I’m forever appreciative of that.’
Despite their loss on the day, Frese’s words indeed breathed life into Okananwa, who eventually put up 21 points, six rebounds and two steals with 9-of-18 shooting.
The 22-year-old will likely prove a key player for the Terps once again if she stays in College Park next season.
Frese, who went 23-8 in her 24th season with Maryland, has built her program into one of the most consistent in the country after leading them to 16 consecutive March Madness appearances.
The 55-year-old guided them to the NCAA Championship back in 2005-06, but has only made it as far as the Final Four stage on two occasions in the 20 seasons which have followed.
Nevertheless, her impact in Maryland over the past two decades is unarguable.
‘She’s one of the reasons why I came to play for Maryland,’ Okananwa said about her coach prior to Saturday’s loss to North Carolina.
‘The way that she’s able to just stay level-headed and calm, because they’ve done this before.’
