No good news comes without a shadow, and Maryland learned that the hard way in their 88-70 win over Towson. Kaylene Smikle returned, but the Terps suffered another blow when freshman Lea Bartelme went down with a non-contact injury after driving past a defender with 7:55 left in the second quarter. The medical staff rushed in, and she had to be helped off the court.

Bartelme was visibly in serious pain as she made her way to the locker room, unable to put any weight on her left leg. Maryland coach Brenda Frese kept it brief, saying, “Knee injury– you saw that. Just going to be evaluated in the next couple of days.” Fans feared the worst and hoped for the best, but the follow-up evaluation delivered the outcome Maryland least wanted to hear.

“🙏🏽 for a speedy recovery for Lea Bartelme 🫶🐢Lea has suffered a torn ACL and will miss the remainder of the 2025-26 season,” announced the official Terps account on its social media. Before the injury, the 5-foot-8 guard from Slovenia averaged 6.8 points and 3.8 assists per game, while shooting 42.9% from three in 20 minutes of play and starting each game. 

Bartelme was expected to be a cornerstone for No. 9 Maryland, and her numbers made that clear. Despite being a freshman, she arrived with uncommon experience for her age. The 19-year-old guard has played in the Women’s Adriatic Basketball Association since 2019 and joined the Slovenian national team in 2023, giving Maryland a mature playmaker from day one.

That background is why the setback hits even harder. Last season, she averaged 12.8 points, 6.4 rebounds, and 6.8 assists with Cinkarna Celje and even appeared on early WNBA 2025 draft boards before choosing college development instead. Now that progression pauses. For players recovering from an ACL tear, most return within 9-11 months post-surgery, but the road back will demand patience as Maryland adjusts without her.

However, it varies case by case, and it’s still doubtful whether Bartelme can return to her pre-injury level. “Not the news any of us wanted to see, but your family has you every step of the way in your recovery. 🐢❤️” wrote the Terrapins coach, Brenda Frese. With the team’s support, Bartelme will hopefully return stronger than before.

Maryland has another player recovering from an ACL tear, and arguably their best guard and player in Bri McDaniel. They likely won’t see McDaniel until conference play in 2026, as she works her way back from a torn ACL. Immediately, however, Smikle returned from injury, replacing Bartelme. She had a solid return, playing only 12:50, but finishing with a pretty full stat line: 13 points on 5-of-15 shooting with five rebounds. 

How Will Maryland Adjust Without Lea Bartelme?

Bartelme was the potential brain of the system despite being a freshman. She had immediately made an impression on the veterans. “Lea Bartelme’s really impressed me,” Senior Saylor Poffenbarger said. “She’s come in as a very dominant force as a point guard. I think she sees the floor really well. She makes some really good passes, but she can also score. I think just coming from different experiences and being able to translate that and bring it over to the college game and bring it over to Maryland has been really impressive. She’s definitely stood out to me.” Replacing her will be a task, but they have two roads to choose from. 

Addie Mack, the 5’9” point guard ranked No. 100 in the ESPN HoopGurlz Top 100, could be the like-for-like replacement for Mack. In the 4 games so far, Mack has come off the bench and impressed, averaging 11.5 points, 2.3 assists, and 1.3 steals per game. She is a more score-first guard, but will be given more on-ball responsibility with Bartelme out. Mack averaged 34.2 points. 6.4 assists, 6.0 rebounds, and 4.3 steals in 30 games as a senior. 

They could give the keys to Mack or go the other direction, redistributing her ball‑handling and perimeter defensive role across a deep guard, wing group. More usage will come from the veteran perimeter scorers like Smickle and Poffenbarger. There will be some schematic tweaks giving their offense some variety, but adding turnover risk. However, will coach Frese change her core ideas after losing her premier point guard?

“We should be a really great up-tempo team that’s going to be able to score a lot of points,” she said before the season. In the 4 games so far, they have scored 85 points per game on average, which is the 42nd-best offense in the nation. It’s still early in the season, and the team can still adjust, ramping up to the system envisioned by coach Frese. The Maryland Terrapins are going through a rough phase. Besides the Lea, the men’s side too faced a severe loss recently.