Aug. 15, 2011
NORMAL, Ill. -
The Illinois State women's basketball team's 2011-12 non-conference schedule has been finalized, as announced Monday by head coach Stephanie Glance. The Redbirds will play 11 non-conference games and one exhibition game.
"The 2011-12 non-conference schedule is extremely challenging and very exciting," Glance said. "We have added new opponents, while maintaining several in-state rivalries. All of these games will prepare us for MVC play."
Four of ISU's non-conference opponents made postseason appearances during the 2010-11 season, as DePaul and Arizona State qualified for the NCAA Tournament, while Michigan and Northwestern played in the Women's National Invitation Tournament (WNIT). DePaul finished second in the Big East standings, while ASU was third in the Pac 12 and Michigan finished fifth in the Big Ten.
ISU will host Missouri-St. Louis in an exhibition game Tuesday, Nov. 1 at 7:05 p.m., before going on three-straight road trips to Ball State (Nov. 11), Northwestern (Nov. 17) and Eastern Illinois (Nov. 21). The Redbirds will then return home to face in-state rivals Northern Illinois (Nov. 26) and Illinois-Chicago (Nov. 28).
Next, Illinois State will travel to Arizona State to compete in the ASU Classic (Dec. 2-3) in Tempe, Ariz. The Redbirds will return home to Redbird Arena to host Illinois (Dec. 7), Western Kentucky (Dec. 9) and DePaul (Dec. 19). ISU will complete the non-conference schedule with a game against Michigan (Dec. 22) in Ann Arbor, Mich.
ISU defeated in-state rival Illinois last season, but despite a down year with a 9-23 overall record, the Illini made a run in the Big Ten Conference Tournament before being eliminated by Penn State, 79-65, in the semifinals.
GoRedbirds.com: Your online source for Illinois State Athletics, tickets, Weisbecker Scholarship Fund gifts, multimedia, Redbird merchandise, photos and more.
