Marquette University Athletics
Women' Basketball Schedule Released
8/26/2004 12:00:00 AM | Women's Basketball
MILWAUKEE ? Head coach Terri Mitchell has announced the 2004-05 schedule for the Marquette women's basketball team. As is tradition, the schedule is filled with quality opponents. Many of the high-ranked non-conference opponents on the schedule will be coming to the Al McGuire Center.
The Golden Eagles will attempt to return to the NCAA Tournament for consecutive years with 14 regular season home games and two exhibition contests. Last season, Marquette used the Al McGuire Center to a great advantage, going 8-0. This year, all Marquette home games will take place at "The Al."
"To have experienced a true home court gives us even more incentive this season," Mitchell said. "The way we played last season, we got better with every home game. We know that we have a very challenging schedule at home. It will be great for our fans and our team to have the kind of competition coming in to our place. We hope that our fans will be behind us and be our sixth man to cheer us on to victory."
The home non-conference slate is one of the best in the nine-year history of Mitchell. She brings Wisconsin to the Al McGuire Center on Wednesday, Dec. 1; Notre Dame on Sunday, Dec. 19 and Penn State on Sunday, Jan. 2, highlighting the home schedule. In addition, Marquette will visit Iowa on Wednesday, Dec. 9 in Iowa City, Wis.-Green Bay on Saturday, Dec. 4 and will take on Mississippi on Tuesday, Dec. 28 in San Diego, Calif.
"Our schedule is one of the most challenging in the years I've been the head coach, but I feel with every game it is my hope that we become stronger and that toughness we develop both mentally and physically will prepare us for a great conference season," Mitchell said.
Also on the non-conference schedule at home is Wis.-Milwaukee (Saturday, Nov. 20), IUPUI (Sunday, Nov. 21), Toledo (Wednesday, Nov. 24) and St. Bonaventure (Tuesday, Dec. 21). In non-conference road games, Marquette also meets Drake (Friday, Nov. 26) and Rhode Island (Saturday, Dec. 11).
Marquette will play in the Surf 'n Slam Division I College Hoop Classic in San Diego. Marquette meets Mississippi in the opener on Tuesday, Dec. 28. The tournament's final round is Thursday, Dec. 30 and will include either Vermont or San Diego.
"It's important for our players to experience different parts of the country," Mitchell said. "It's a great tournament with much tradition. To play an SEC school on neutral court is another step in the building of our program."
Marquette opens the Conference USA season with a favorable schedule. The Golden Eagles open up with DePaul on Sunday, Jan. 9 in a nationally televised game on ESPN 2. Marquette also has Charlotte (Friday, Jan. 14), East Carolina (Sunday, Jan. 16), USF (Friday, Jan. 28) and UAB (Sunday, Jan. 30) at home in January. Marquette visits Southern Miss (Friday, Jan. 21) and Tulane (Sunday, Jan. 23) as its only road games in January.
February brings a reversal of fortune for Marquette. The Golden Eagles only have two games at home ? TCU (Friday, Feb. 11) and Houston (Sunday, Feb. 13) ? and will be on the road for the rest of the month. The Golden Eagles travel to Cincinnati (Saturday, Feb. 5), Louisville (Monday, Feb. 7), Memphis (Friday, Feb. 18), Saint Louis (Sunday, Feb. 20) and DePaul (Sunday, Feb. 27).
"It's so important for us to start the conference schedule well," Mitchell said. "Knowing the first five of seven games are at home, we're going to need momentum before we go on the road. To deal with that kind of schedule, we hope to be playing our best basketball before we hit the road."
The schedule starts with exhibition contests on Monday Nov. 8 and Sunday, Nov. 18, and finishes with the Conference USA Tournament in Charlotte, N.C. on March 4-7.
To view the complete schedule, click here.
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