DAYTONA BEACH, Fla. – Bethune-Cookman University Women's Basketball has announced its 2015-16 schedule on Monday, Aug. 31, as head coach Vanessa Blair-Lewis enters her eighth season with the program.
In addition to playing 21 games in the state of Florida, five Florida based schools, and participating in three in-state tournaments, the slate includes matchups with two teams that advanced to the 2015 NCAA Tournament: Miami and Savannah State.
“Having the opportunity to play against a lot of different conferences will prepare us for our competitive conference schedule,” said Blair-Lewis.
“Each one of those teams (FIU, JU, UNF, Miami, Stetson), offer us a different and exciting challenge,” Blair-Lewis added. “It will be a great test for us.”
The Wildcats open the regular season at home, as B-CU hosts Brown (Nov. 13) in Moore Gymnasium.
A two-game road swing follows as the Wildcats travel south to take on the Miami Hurricanes (Nov. 15), followed by a trip north to face Western Carolina (Nov. 18) in Cullowhee, North Carolina.
B-CU will host back-to-back home contests with Stetson (Nov. 21) and Edward Waters (Nov. 24), before heading to Jacksonville to wrap up the month of November in the University of North Florida Tournament (Nov. 27-28), where the Wildcats will see UNF and Western Illinois.
The month of December opens Mid-Eastern Athletic Conference play for B-CU and keeps the Wildcats in Volusia County for six-straight games. B-CU opens MEAC action hosting South Carolina State (Dec. 5) followed by welcoming Jacksonville (Dec. 12) and Warner (Dec. 15) to Moore Gym.
Heading into the holiday break, the Wildcats take the 21-mile trip west to DeLand, as B-CU participates in the Stetson Hatter Classic (Dec. 20-21) facing Georgia Southern and Georgie State over the two-day span.
The Wildcats return to the hardwood to wrap-up nonconference play during the Florida Atlantic Tournament (Dec. 29-30) in Boca Raton, Florida, as the Owls host B-CU, Miami (Ohio) and Long Island University-Brooklyn.
The Wildcats feature home MEAC games versus Coppin State (Jan. 16), Morgan State (Jan. 18), Florida A&M (Jan. 30), Savannah State (Feb. 2), Delaware State (Feb. 6), North Carolina Central (Feb. 27) and North Carolina A&T (Feb. 29).
On the road, B-CU takes on Hampton (Jan. 9), Norfolk State (Jan. 11), Maryland Eastern Shore (Jan. 23), Howard (Jan. 25), North Carolina Central (Feb. 13), North Carolina A&T (Feb. 15) and South Carolina State (March 3).
The MEAC Tournament will be held March 5-10, in Norfolk, Virginia, at the Scope Arena.
After a historic season in the Blair-Lewis era, finishing 13-17 overall and 9-7 in MEAC play, the Wildcats squad returns four of their five starters from a season ago.
“We are excited because now we can boost that we have a veteran team,” said Blair-Lewis. “With all of the accomplishments that the team earned last season, being able to come back with that, in addition to the girls returning due to injury and a compliment of incoming freshman, should provide us with a lot of depth and make us very competitive.”
