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Lady Frogs release 2008-09 schedule
Aug. 21, 2008
- 2008-09 Lady Frog Hoops Schedule FORT WORTH--TCU Head Coach Jeff Mittie announced the details of his team's 2008-09 women's basketball schedule Thursday. The Lady Frogs are guaranteed to play at least 30 games during the upcoming season, with the possibility of half of the schedule against 2007-08 postseason qualifiers.
Five letterwinners return from last season's team that went 23-12 and finished second in the regular-season Mountain West Conference standings. Mittie's squad qualified for postseason play for the eighth consecutive year before advancing to the quarterfinal round of the Women's Postseason NIT. Among TCU's leading returnees is sophomore Helena Sverrisdottir, the 2007-08 MWC Freshman of the Year.
In addition to its usual demanding Mountain West Conference schedule, TCU faces a non-conference slate during the upcoming season featuring nine reigning postseason qualifiers, including seven NCAA Tournament teams.
The Lady Frogs' campaign starts with a bang, as 2005-06 NCAA champion Maryland visits Fort Worth on Nov. 14 for the first of five consecutive home games to open the year. The Lady Terrapins reached the Elite 8 of last season's NCAA Tournament and could start the season with a national top-10 ranking. Only five other top-10 squads have played TCU at Daniel-Meyer Coliseum during Mittie's tenure, the last being No. 2 Duke in 2005-06.
Following its clash with the Terps, another 2007-08 NCAA qualifier, UT San Antonio, visits the DMC on Nov. 16, followed by a cross-town matchup with UT Arlington at home on Nov. 20. Games against Sam Houston State (Nov. 23) and former Southwest Conference rival Houston (Nov. 25) finish off the early homestand.
The Maryland matchup is one of several out-of-league contests with the potential to match the Lady Frogs up against a ranked opponent. Back-to-back road trips in mid-December to Oklahoma State (Dec. 13) and Texas A&M (Dec. 20) pit TCU against two other teams that advanced far into last season's NCAA Tournament. Texas A&M joined Maryland in the Elite 8 after winning the Big 12 Tournament title, while OSU reached the Sweet 16 round.
The games against the Aggies and Cowgirls conclude a month-long period that will keep TCU on the road for seven games. The team begins the stretch during the Thanksgiving holiday by traveling to Cancun, Mexico, Nov. 27-28 to participate in a pair of games at the Caribbean Challenge, which also features Boston College, Eastern Michigan and James Madison. Like the Frogs, both BC and JMU participated in last season's WNIT.
Following its Thanksgiving trip to Cancun, TCU travels to the state of California for three games, beginning with a Dec. 4 matchup against Fresno State, a 2007-08 NCAA Tournament qualifier. The Frogs then move north to Berkeley, Calif., for the Contra Costa Times Classic, which features two games Dec. 6-7 against Cal, Princeton and/or St. Louis. Cal handed the Frogs one of only three home losses a year ago, when it reached the second round of the NCAA Tournament and finished the year ranked 18th.
TCU returns to campus from Winter Break for a Dec. 30 home tip-off with Metroplex rival SMU, which also advanced to the NCAA Tournament last season. The contest, which will be broadcast by The Mtn., is the first of seven games set to be televised this season for the Lady Frogs.
The Frogs' six other scheduled television broadcasts each come in Mountain West Conference play: Jan. 13 vs. BYU (The Mtn.); Jan. 25 at New Mexico (CBS College Sports); Jan. 28 vs. San Diego State (The Mtn.); Feb. 4 at Utah (The Mtn.); Feb. 10 vs. UNLV (The Mtn.); and March 7 vs. Utah (CBS College Sports).
TCU's MWC season begins with two straight road games, Jan. 7 at Colorado State and Jan. 10 at UNLV. Six of the 16 league contests will pit the Frogs against reigning NCAA qualifiers with two games each against the likes of Utah (Feb. 4; March 7), Wyoming (Jan. 21; Feb. 21) and New Mexico (Jan. 25; Feb. 25).
The annual Mountain West Conference Championship returns to Las Vegas, Nev., March 10-14, while the NCAA Tournament First and Second Rounds will be held March 21-24 at eight predetermined sites. The NCAA Regionals follow March 28-31 before the 2009 NCAA Final Four is held at the Scottrade Center April 5 and 7 in St. Louis, Mo.
TCU makes its first appearance of the season Nov. 8 during a home exhibition contest against Oklahoma City University at the DMC.
In addition to the seven-game television schedule, each of the Lady Frogs' games will be broadcast live over the radio waves in the DFW Metroplex on KTCU 88.7 FM, as well as on TCU's official athletics web site, www.gofrogs.com. Veteran radio play-by-play announcer Jeff Williams will once again call the action this season.
Times for those home games not scheduled for television broadcast will be set before the start of the season. Fans are encouraged to check GoFrogs.com prior to each game for correct start times.
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