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Maryland women's basketball signed a five five-star recruits in its class of 2016, but the class of 2015 already putting on a show in College Park.
Brianna Fraser and Kiah Gillespie are two freshman who could serve as the future for the program after players like Brene Moseley, Malina Howard, Shatori Walker-Kimbrough and Brionna Jones leave the program. Right now the No. 8 Terps are 12-2 after their 80-71 loss to the Ohio State Buckeyes.
Taking a look at the two freshman on Maryland's squad, here's how they stack up.
Brianna Fraser
Fraser is from Brooklyn and came to the Terps from South Shore High School. She was named a McDonald's All-American and was rated the No. 12 overall player by the All Star Girls Report, No. 15 overall by ESPN’s Hoop Gurlz and Collegiate Girls Basketball Report and rated the No. 3 player at her position by ESPN. She played in the City Championship game at the Barclays Center as a junior and led her team to a City Championship at Madison Square Garden as a senior. She also broke the NYS Federation scoring record with 46 points vs. Christ the King in her senior year and was named a Brand Jordan All-American and played in the game at the Barclays Center.
As a Maryland Terrapin so far, her numbers don't stand out but as a freshman there is room to grow. She is only averaging 4.6 points per game, 3.4 rebounds per game, shoots at 33 percent from behind the arc and 71 percent from the free throw line. Her free throw line stat definitely needs to improve. Even though free throws are a small part of basketball, they matter in close games when a team is trying to seal a win. She only is averaging around 13 minutes a game and with the an already tight nucleus of players that is expected.
Hopefully Fraser will see more playing time against conference teams, which would be a valuable experience.
Kiah Gillespie
Like Fraser, Gillespie was named a McDonald's All-American and Parade All-American. The 6'2 forward from Meridian, Connecticut was ranked on many recruiting sites as a top 25 player, and was rated the second-best forward by Prospect Nation. She put up solid numbers in her junior season (2014): 22 points, 10 rebounds, 4 assists, 2 steals and 2 blocks per game. She reached 1,000 points in three years, was named Gatorade State Player of the Year twice and voted the No. 1 player in Connecticut by GameTime CT, among other accolades.
In her freshman season, Gillespie is averaging just under 9 points a game and under 5 rebounds a game. She also struggles at the free throw line, where she shoots 61 percent. Gillespie could use more playing time during conference play so she can develop and be ahead of the curve going into her sophomore season.