DOVER, Del. – The Delaware State women’s basketball team – under the direction of first-year head coach Barbara Burgess – announced on Friday its schedule for the upcoming 2015-16 season.
“This year’s schedule will allow us start the rebuilding process and better prepare us for conference play,” said Burgess, who is second on DSU’s all-time scoring list (1807). “It’s a good balance between the number of home games and away games.”
The schedule balance entails DSU playing 14 out of its 29 games at its homely confines of Memorial Hall. Last season, the Lady Hornets played a whopping 20 games away from home, resulting in a 2-18 record.
To begin its 2015-16 campaign, DSU will look to upset the West Virginia Mountaineers on the road, who are one of five Women’s National Invitational Tournament (WNIT) teams from last season DSU will face. The Mountaineers nearly captured the WNIT Championship last season if not for a two-point loss suffered at the hands of UCLA.
After playing host to Mount St. Mary’s (Nov. 18) in its home opener, Delaware State will head to the Steel City to face the Pitt Panthers out of the Atlantic Coast Conference (ACC) for the second consecutive season. Defeating the Lady Hornets 93-58 last December, the Lady Panthers went on to make the NCAA Tournament as a No. 10 seed out of the Spokane Region. Pitt eventually lost to powerhouse No. 2 Tennessee in the second round, after pulling out a 51-40 upset victory over No. 7 Chattanooga.
The Lady Hornets will then return home to face Lehigh (Nov. 23), who nearly clinched a NCAA Tournament bid if not for a 16-point loss to American in the Patriot League Tournament championship game. For Thanksgiving, the Lady Hornets will head to the Sunshine State to take part in the Florida Atlantic Tournament (Nov. 27 – 28). Other than DSU and FAU, the rest of the tournament field has yet to be determined.
“This FAU Thanksgiving Tournament will be a good test for us in terms of getting ready for conference play,” added Burgess.
To begin December, Delaware State will wrap up its games against non-conference opponents at home against William & Mary (Dec. 1), Wagner (Dec. 13), Longwood (Dec. 22) and Hofstra (Dec. 30), while traveling to face Fordham (Dec. 5), Temple (Dec. 19) and Cornell (Jan. 6).
William & Mary’s 2014-15 campaign ended with a one-point loss at Xavier in the opening round of the Women’s Basketball Invitational (WBI), whereas Fordham is coming off a 1-1 outing in the WNIT. Finishing third in the American Athletic Conference (AAC) regular season standings last season, the Owls reached the WNIT semi-final round only to fall 66-58 in overtime at West Virginia. Hofstra, on the other hand, nearly brought home its first-ever CAA Tournament Championship, but were defeated by top-seeded James Madison. The Pride was eventually awarded with a WNIT berth only to fall on the road at Penn, 65-58.
Mid-Eastern Athletic Conference (MEAC) play for the Columbia Blue & Red will begin on the road at Morgan State (Jan. 9), followed by a home matchup against Howard (Jan. 11). DSU then will head south for a back-to-back slate at South Carolina State (Jan. 16) and reigning MEAC Tournament champion Savannah State (Jan. 18). Returning to Memorial Hall for a season-long three-game homestand, DSU will take on North Carolina Central (Jan. 23), North Carolina A&T State (Jan. 25) and South Carolina State (Jan. 30) to close out January.
February, meanwhile, will begin with another trip to the sunshine state – this time to face Bethune-Cookman (Feb. 6) and Florida A&M (Feb. 8). Three out of the next four games for the Lady Hornets will be played at Memorial Hall, beginning with a matchup against rival UMES (Feb. 13). After a road contest at Coppin State (Feb. 15), the Lady Hornets return home for a tough pair of games against Hampton (Feb. 20) and Norfolk State (Feb. 22).
Hampton – the reigning five-time MEAC regular-season champions – recorded a 45-42 win at Drexel in last season’s WNIT before suffering an 18-point loss at West Virginia. The Spartans, meanwhile, defeated DSU twice last season – including a 70-45 victory in the opening round of the MEAC Tournament.
To wrap up the regular season, the Lady Hornets will head to UMES (Feb. 27) and Hampton (Feb. 29), whereas the season finale will be against Coppin State (March 3).
As for the MEAC Tournament (March 7 – 12), it will take place in Norfolk, Va. at the Scope Arena.