Bucknell University Athletics
Trip to Notre Dame Highlights 2015-16 Women's Basketball Schedule
8/3/2015 2:29:00 PM | Women's Basketball
LEWISBURG, Pa. – Bucknell women's basketball announced its full 2015-16 schedule on Monday, and the team's opening road trip certainly stands out from its 11-game non-conference slate. The Bison open the season at 2015 WNIT participant Cleveland State on Nov. 13, and follow that up with a game at perennial national power Notre Dame on Nov. 15.
Bucknell travels to Indiana to take on a Notre Dame team that has reached the NCAA Final Four in each of the past five seasons, including the national championship game in four of those years. During that time, the Fighting Irish have posted a record of 174-18. They went 36-3 and fell to Connecticut in the national title game last season.
The Bison will have their work cut out for them two days before the Notre Dame game when they play Cleveland State. The Vikings were 19-13 last season, advanced to the semifinals of the Horizon League Tournament, and were selected to compete in the WNIT. Their campaign came to a close with a loss to Michigan in the first round. Bucknell will play Cleveland State for just the third time in program history and the first since posting an 82-74 win in 2001.
“We are really excited about this year's schedule,” said Bucknell head coach Aaron Roussell, who enters his fourth year with the Bison. “Beginning the season with a trip to the Midwest that culminates with a game at one of the top women's basketball programs in the country in Notre Dame is a real highlight. In addition to playing in a great sold-out environment in their season opener, we will get to see a Notre Dame football game, which will be a great experience for our team.“
Following the two-game road trip, the Bison return to Lewisburg for their home opener against Binghamton on Nov. 18. They have treated their fans to quality home openers in recent years, winning four of the past five, including an 89-48 victory over Binghamton in 2013. From there they will travel to play Manhattan (Nov. 21), host Mount St. Mary's (Nov. 24) and play at Canisius (Nov. 29), before playing back-to-back home games for the first time as Youngstown State and Fairleigh Dickinson come to Sojka Pavilion on Dec. 2 and Dec. 4, respectively.
The non-conference slate wraps up with games at UMBC (Dec. 8), at home against Delaware (Dec. 20) and at Morgan State (Dec. 22). The Bison defeated both UMBC and Morgan State last season, but suffered a two-point loss on the road to Delaware.
“We will be challenged during our non-conference slate, which we feel is necessary to prepare us for the ever-improving Patriot League,” Roussell said. “This conference has made a real name for itself over the last few years, coupled by a dramatic improvement in our RPI, and others have taken notice.”
Bucknell opens the Patriot League portion of its schedule on the road against Navy on Dec. 30 and follows that with its conference home opener against Army on Jan. 2. As always, the Bison will play every team in the league twice during the season. However, the conference has added a new wrinkle to its postseason tournament. As in years past, the first two rounds of the tournament will be played at the higher seed of each matchup, but the semifinals and championship game will now take place on back-to-back days (March 11-12) at the site of the highest remaining seed. The title game will be televised on CBS Sports Network.
“One of the things we are most pumped about is the adjustment to our conference tournament,” Roussell said. “The Patriot League "Final Four" format will be a fresh, exciting event and it gives our program something to strive for each season.”
American won both the regular season title and Patriot League Tournament last season, earning the automatic berth and a No. 14 seed in the NCAA Tournament. They join Notre Dame to give Bucknell two NCAA participants on the schedule this season. Army West Point joins Cleveland State and Youngstown State as opponents that were invited to the WNIT a year ago.
Bucknell returns four starters from a team that went 18-12 last season, the program's best record since the 2006-07 team went 20-11.
