GRAND FORKS, N.D.--University of North Dakota head women's basketball coach Gene Roebuck announced today the team's 2008-09 schedule.
UND, which will begin its first season of Division I competition in 2008-09, will play a 28-game regular season schedule that includes 22 games against Division I opponents. Next season's regular season schedule will feature 14 home games, including a season-ending, four-team tournament, and 14 away games.
“Our goal in our first season of Division I is to play as many Division I opponents as possible,” said Roebuck. “We believe that is the right way to go about it, regardless of wins and losses, and we want to face the best possible competition.”
After a home exhibition game against Mayville State, UND will officially open the 2008-09 season at home against Eastern Michigan on Nov. 14. The Eagles are coming off of their third Mid-American Conference West Division title in the last five years.
The Sioux will then embark on a five-game road trip throughout the remainder of November that includes trips to Montana State, Wyoming and Wisconsin-Green Bay. Montana State was the Big Sky Conference Tournament runner-up last season, while Wyoming earned its first NCAA postseason berth. UW-Green Bay went 26-6 in 2007-08, the fifth-winningest season in program history.
The month of November will conclude with the Northern Arizona Tournament, which features the host Lumberjacks, as well as Bradley and UC-Riverside.
The month of December features home games against Jamestown, Western Michigan, Mayville State and Seattle Pacific, and road games at Toledo and Arkansas. Toledo is coming off of its league-best 18th appearance in the MAC Tournament semifinals, while Arkansas went 17-13 and returns six letterwinners.
UND will conclude the month of December at the Iowa State Tournament, which also includes the host Cyclones, Niagara and Lamar. ISU went 21-13 last season and advanced to the NCAA postseason for the ninth time in the last 13 years. Niagara went 8-22 in 2007-08 while Lamar went 19-13.
The Sioux will open the 2009 calendar year at Vermont, facing a Catamount team that went 24-9, the fourth most victories in the program's history, and earned an automatic bid to the Postseason WNIT. UND will also travel to Houston Baptist, which went 14-11 in its first year of Division I competition.
The Sioux will then return home to host Minnesota, Crookston, Sioux Falls and South Dakota. UND and USD, former North Central Conference rivals, will close out January with a rematch in Vermillion, S.D.
February's schedule includes home games against Minot State, Houston Baptist, Southern Illinois-Edwardsville and Seattle University. Both SIUE and Seattle will be in their first season of Division I competition in 2008-09. UND's lone February road trip will be to Seattle University.
After a return date at Southern Illinois-Edwardsville on March 1, UND will close out the 2008-09 campaign by hosting a four-team tournament March 7-8 that also includes South Dakota, Houston Baptist and Seattle University.
The Fighting Sioux went 27-4 last season advanced to the NCAA Division II postseason tournament for the 22nd and final time in program history.
Click on the PDF link provided at the top of the page to view the complete 2008-09 schedule.
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