April 26, 2010

PRINTABLE WOMEN'S HOOPS NON-CONFERENCE SCHEDULE

FORT WORTH--TCU women's basketball head coach Jeff Mittie released the details of his squad's 2010-11 non-conference schedule Monday. The Frogs, known for annually lining up one of the nation's most competitive schedules, will play 13 games against non-conference opponents, seven of which qualified for the NCAA Tournament this past season.

The 13 opponents combined for a 259-162 record in 2009-10 for an average of 20 wins per team.

"It was a priority of ours to put together one of the most challenging schedules in our history," Mittie said. "With this non-conference slate, I believe we have accomplished that. This schedule will continue to provide our group with opportunities against some of the best teams in the nation. With a number of veteran players, I felt this was the right kind of schedule for our team."

TCU returns eight letterwinners and four players with at least 29 starts from this past season's team that won the Mountain West Conference regular-season championship and advanced to the NCAA Tournament for the ninth time in 10 years.

The returning experience should bode well for a team with a 2010-11 schedule featuring nine teams that advanced to postseason play a year ago. Three of the squads, Iowa State, Georgia and Oklahoma, made it to the Sweet 16, with the Sooners advancing to the Final Four. TCU will play five regular-season matchups overall against Sweet 16 teams when adding its two contests against MWC rival San Diego State.

Highlighting the Frogs' 2010-11 slate is a group of eight home games, including a pair of showcase contests against Georgia (Dec. 22) and Oklahoma (Jan. 2).

Georgia, which finished third in the Southeastern Conference this past season, posted a 25-9 overall record while reaching the Sweet 16. The teams will be meeting for the fifth time in Mittie's tenure. The Frogs defeated UGA in the 2004 Rainbow Wahine Classic for one of three victories against a No. 3-ranked team in program history.

Oklahoma, which has advanced to two straight Final Fours, placed third in the Big 12 Conference while going 27-11. The Frogs defeated OU in the Sooners' previous trip to Fort Worth, 81-65, back on Dec. 9, 2004.

TCU will open the regular season with two straight home tilts against in-state opponents, Nov. 13 vs. Houston Baptist and Nov. 17 vs. SMU. The Mustangs recently finished off a 20-11 season with an appearance in the Women's NIT last month. The Frogs' other four home contests will also come against Texas squads--Dec. 2 vs. Houston, a WNIT qualifier; Dec. 8 vs. UT Arlington; Dec. 19 vs. Sam Houston State; and Dec. 30 vs. Texas Southern.

Even more challenging than TCU's home lineup will be an away schedule featuring five squads that reached the 2010 NCAA Tournament in five games. Three of the contests will be played at the annual Paradise Jam in the U.S. Virgin Islands Nov. 25 through 27. The three squads combined for an average of 25 victories this past season.

The Frogs begin the tournament Nov. 25 with a matchup against West Virginia, the runner-up in the Big East Conference with a 29-6 overall record. The Mountaineers reached the 2010 NCAA Tournament's second round. Next up will be a Nov. 26 meeting with Iowa State, an NCAA Sweet Sixteen qualifier that posted a 25-8 record, while the week concludes with a Nov. 27 contest against Virginia, which went 21-10 while advancing to NCAA play.

In addition to the challenging Paradise Jam field, the Frogs round out their away schedule with two true road contests against 2010 NCAA qualifiers Dec. 4 at Fresno State (27-7) and Dec. 12 at Texas A&M (26-8).

Fresno posted a perfect 16-0 showing in the Western Athletic Conference to win the league's regular-season championship, while the Aggies won the Big 12's tournament title after finishing fourth in the regular-season standings. TCU posted victories at home over both teams last fall, including a win over then fifth-ranked Texas A&M that marked the squad's only setback in its 13 regular-season non-conference games.

TCU's Mountain West Conference schedule will be released this summer, in addition to a list of times for all games and an announcement on the Frogs' contests selected for television broadcast.

2010-11 TCU WOMEN'S BASKETBALL NON-CONFERENCE SCHEDULE
Date--Opponent--Location
Sat., Nov. 13--Houston Baptist--Daniel-Meyer Coliseum
Wed., Nov. 17--SMU--Daniel-Meyer Coliseum
Thurs., Nov. 25--vs. West Virginia (Paradise Jam)--U.S. Virgin Islands
Fri., Nov. 26--vs. Iowa State (Paradise Jam)--U.S. Virgin Islands
Sat., Nov. 27--vs. Virginia (Paradise Jam)--U.S. Virgin Islands
Thurs., Dec. 2--Houston--Daniel-Meyer Coliseum
Sat., Dec. 4--at Fresno State--Fresno, Calif.
Wed., Dec. 8--UT Arlington--Daniel-Meyer Coliseum
Sun., Dec. 12--at Texas A&M--College Station, Texas
Sun., Dec. 19--Sam Houston State--Daniel-Meyer Coliseum
Wed., Dec. 22--Georgia--Daniel-Meyer Coliseum
Thurs., Dec. 30--Texas Southern--Daniel-Meyer Coliseum
Sun., Jan. 2--Oklahoma--Daniel-Meyer Coliseum