Women's Basketball Schedule Includes Seven Games Against NCAA/WNIT Qualifiers

LEWISBURG, Pa. – The Bucknell women's basketball team has a difficult task ahead of it this season with the most challenging schedule of the Aaron Roussell era. The fifth-year head coach announced the schedule on Friday, and it includes seven games against teams that qualified for national postseason tournaments last season and two games against legendary coaches of teams from the ACC and Big Ten.

"This is probably the toughest non-conference schedule we have ever had and we did that by design,” said Roussell, who is the returning Patriot League Coach of the Year. “I was very proud of the high RPI we earned last year and we want to continue to improve on that, you can't do that without a challenging schedule. We wanted to add some BCS opponents, as well as some of the top mid-major programs, and we wanted to be tested on the road in tough situations. We were able to accomplish all of that with this year's slate"

Roussell's Coach of the Year honor came after leading Bucknell to a 17-1 record in league play and a share of the regular season title. The Bison went on to set a program record for wins in a season with a record of 25-8 and advanced to the second round of the WNIT.

The Bison open the season with a game on the road against Binghamton on Friday, Nov. 11, and follow that with a game at Saint Joseph's, a 2014 NCAA Tournament qualifier, two days later. The first home game of the season will be against NJIT on Thursday, Nov. 17 at Sojka Pavilion.

Following the home opener, Bucknell faces a six-game stretch that may be unparalleled in program history. It begins with a two-game trip to North Carolina, opening with a matchup against the Tar Heels on Nov. 20. The Tar Heels, the alma mater of current Bison assistant coach Martina Wood, are led by Sylvia Hatchell, who ranks third all-time and second among active coaches in career wins with a mark of 975-358. It will also mark the first time the two teams have met since playing in the opening round of the 2008 NCAA Tournament. The trip south concludes with a game at Elon on Nov. 22. The Phoenix, a returning WNIT qualifier, are the first of five straight opponents that qualified for either the WNIT or the NCAA Tournament.

"I am thrilled that we were able to get to the hometowns of some of our players so they can play in front of their friends and families,” Roussell said. “The Carolina trip will be great for Catherine Romaine and the St. Joseph's game will be exciting for Megan McGurk, whose family has some history there. This is something we always try to do when we can."

Bucknell returns home to play returning WNIT participant Drexel on Nov. 27, before going back on the road for a rematch with Akron on Nov. 30. The teams met in the WNIT First Round last season, where the Bison posted a 74-70 victory for the first national postseason victory in program history.

The impressive stretch of opponents continues on Dec. 3 with a game at perennial power Rutgers. The Scarlet Knights were in the WNIT last season and in the NCAA Tournament the year before. They are led by C. Vivian Stringer, who ranks fourth all-time and third among active coaches in career wins with a mark of 971-366 and has guided the team to three Final Fours and one national runner-up finish. It doesn't get any easier for the Bison after that as they travel to play St. Bonaventure on Dec. 6. The 10^th-seeded Bonnies upset seventh-seeded Oklahoma State in the opening round of the 2015 NCAA Tournament.

The Bison close their non-conference schedule with home games against Cleveland State (Dec. 18) and Manhattan (Dec. 20.). They defeated both teams in close contests last season.

The conference schedule begins on Dec. 30 with a home game against Navy. The Bison's second league game will be at returning conference champion and NCAA Tournament qualifier Army West Point on Jan. 2. A second game against the Black Knights awaits the Bison on Jan. 28.

"The challenge we have put out there for our team during the non-conference schedule will prepare us well for the Patriot League,” Roussell said. “We realize that historically this has been a one-bid league, and we want to be battle-tested for league play, especially for the conference tournament."

The Patriot League Tournament opens with two first round games on March 4, while the quarterfinals will be held on March 6. All games in the first two rounds will be held at the site of the higher-seeded team. Both semifinal games on March 10 and the championship game on March 12 will be held at the site of the highest remaining seed of the four teams.

The Bison have the only returning First Team All-Patriot League selection in Claire DeBoer, the reigning Rookie of the Year in Kaitlyn Slagus and a Patriot League All-Tournament Team and All-Rookie honoree in Kyi English. The team also expects the return of senior Megan McGurk, who started the first 74 games of her career before suffering a season-ending injury midway through last season.