A Coaching Moment Goes Viral in Women's Tourney

Maryland's season ended Sunday, and one sideline moment is getting as much attention as the score. TV cameras caught longtime Terrapins coach Brenda Frese delivering a fiery, face-to-face message to star guard Oluchi Okananwa during the third quarter of a 74–66 NCAA Tournament loss to North Carolina. Watch it here. "I believe in you," Frese can be seen saying, thanks to lip-reading via the Athletic. "But you gotta want this moment." Okananwa then helped her team rally to tie the game, though North Carolina ultimately triumphed, notes CBS Sports.

It might have looked harsh, but neither player nor coach saw it that way afterward:

• Okananwa: "Coach understands I'm a competitor at heart, and 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," said the junior. "Really what that was was a regroup moment for myself, and her telling me she believed in me."
• Frese: "We do have to have those tough conversations," the coach told reporters. " You can't have them without a relationship. I kind of wanted to implore just how much belief I had in her."