DAYTONA BEACH, Fla. - Under the direction of seventh-year Head Coach Vanessa Blair-Lewis, Bethune-Cookman women’s basketball has put together another exciting non-conference schedule with a local flair for the 2014-15 season, the program announced Thursday (Sept. 11).
Out of the 12 non-conference games, the Lady Wildcats will face three different teams that made the NCAA Tournament a year ago, while two other squads were selected for the Women’s National Invitation Tournament (NIT) field and another competed in the Women’s Basketball Invitational (WBI). In addition, Mid-Eastern Athletic Conference (MEAC) foes Hampton and North Carolina A&T reached the NCAA Tournament and WNIT, respectively.
“This is a challenging schedule,” Coach Blair-Lewis said. “This team is going to be tested early, which is what we want. I don’t think there is any game on our schedule you can look past, which is good for a team that is considered young on paper, but has some quality experience returning.”
For the second-straight year, the Lady Wildcats will remain close to home, capitalizing on a host of nearby opponents and allowing the Lady Wildcats to limit time away from campus and emphasize academics. The strategy proved effective in 2013-14, with the squad holding a 3.05 team GPA.
The Lady Wildcats will open the non-conference schedule at cross-county rival Stetson (Atlantic Sun, 27-8, WNIT second round) on Nov. 14 in DeLand, Fla. and then begin the home slate with a rematch against Florida Atlantic (Conference USA, 16-14) in the confines of historic Richard V. Moore Gymnasium on Nov. 16.
Just two days later (Nov. 18), B-CU will meet Atlantic Coast Conference (ACC) opponent Florida State at the Donald L. Tucker Center in Tallahasse (21-12, NCAA second round) for the first time in program history, followed by a road contest at Jacksonville (Atlantic Sun, 13-17) on Nov. 20.
On Nov. 23, the Lady Wildcats embark on their longest road trip of the non-conference schedule, traveling nearly 600 miles to Greenville, N.C. to face East Carolina (American Athletic Conference, 22-9, NCAA first round), returning to Moore Gym for back-to-back games versus Lynn (Sunshine State, 11-16) and Edward Waters (Gulf Coast Athletic, 16-12) on Nov. 29 and Dec. 2, respectively.
MEAC play opens on Dec. 6 with a road swing first to Savannah State (19-14, 10-6 MEAC), followed by South Carolina State (7-20, 5-11 MEAC) on Dec. 8. The Lady Wildcats knocked the Lady Bulldogs out of the MEAC Championships last season with a 64-55 victory in Norfolk, Va. during the opening round.
The non-conference schedule continues with home contests in a first-ever meeting with Akron (Mid-American, 23-10, NCAA first round) on Dec. 15 and a rematch with Florida Gulf Coast (Atlantic Sun, 26-8, NCAA first round) on Dec. 17. The Lady Wildcats return to DeLand to play in the Stetson Hatter Classic for the fourth consecutive year, meeting Campbell (Atlantic Sun, 19-12) and Texas State (Sun Belt, 16-16, WBI first round) on December 19-20 at the Edmunds Center. B-CU opens the new year and closes the non-conference slate with a home matchup versus Western Carolina (Southern, 15-17) on Jan. 3 at Moore Gym.
In Blair-Lewis’ eyes, the schedule doesn’t get any easier in the conference stretch, but rather the opposite.
“The parity in the conference is growing,” Blair-Lewis noted. “From top to bottom, anybody can win on any given night. It’s going to be a slugfest from the beginning, all the way down the stretch, and everybody is going to have an opportunity to put their hands on that trophy at the end of the year.”
MEAC play reopens on Jan. 10 with five-time defending champion Hampton (28-5, 16-0 MEAC, NCAA first round), followed by Norfolk State (12-16, 8-8 MEAC) on Jan. 12, both at home. Next up is a two-game swing in Baltimore on Jan. 17-19 to meet Coppin State (17-14, 12-4 MEAC) and Morgan State (5-25, 3-13 MEAC). The Lady Wildcats face Maryland Eastern Shore (9-21, 4-12 MEAC) on Jan. 24 and Howard (11-20) on Jan. 26 at home, then hit the road to Florida A&M (17-14, 10-6 MEAC) on Jan 31. and Delaware State (8-21, 3-13 MEAC) on Feb. 7. In a three-game homestand beginning on Valentine’s Day, B-CU faces North Carolina Central (11-19, 6-10 MEAC), followed by North Carolina A&T (24-7, 13-3 MEAC, WNIT first round) on Feb. 16 and a rematch with FAMU on Feb. 21. The Lady Wildcats rematch with NCCU on Feb. 28 and NCAT on March 2, closing the 28-game regular season at home with SCSU on March 5.
The MEAC Basketball Championships will again take place at The Scope Arena in Norfolk. The Lady Wildcats reached the second round last season, falling to MEAC Runner-up NCAT, 78-46. The Lady Wildcats finished the season seventh in the MEAC standings with a 12-18 (8-8 MEAC) record. Despite a youthful motif and the loss of leading scorer Chastity René Taylor to graduation, the Lady Wildcats boast significant game experience returning, led by MEAC All-Rookie team member Kailyn Williams (6.7 PPG, 6.6 RPG, 96 Blk.) and Terrenisha Hollis (8.1 PPG, 5.2 RPG, 57 Stl., 33 Blk.). Hollis played in just three games a year ago before sustaining a season-ending shoulder injury. The pair is joined by a host of complementary players, including seven newcomers to the 2014-15 squad.
The Lady Wildcats are currently working through preseason conditioning and individual workouts and are slated to begin formal team practices on October 6.
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