Sept. 8, 2011
NORMAL, Ill. - The Illinois State women's basketball team's 2011-12 schedule has been finalized, as announced Thursday by the Missouri Valley Conference. The Redbirds will play 29 regular-season games, including 14 inside Redbird Arena.
"We have a very challenging schedule this season," head coach Stephanie Glance said. "Since we are playing several teams that competed in postseason play last season, our non-conference schedule will certainly prepare us for what will once again be a tough Missouri Valley Conference slate. We look forward to meeting these challenges head on."
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 start the season with 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), before completing the non-conference schedule with a game against Michigan (Dec. 22) in Ann Arbor, Mich.
The 18-game Missouri Valley Conference schedule will begin with a weekend of home games against Southern Illinois (Dec. 30) and Evansville (Jan. 1). The Redbirds then hit the road for three games in just over a week at Indiana State (Jan. 6), Bradley (Jan. 12) and Northern Iowa (Jan. 14). ISU will return to Redbird Arena to host Drake (Jan. 20) and Creighton (Jan. 22), before visiting Wichita State (Jan. 27) and Missouri State (Jan. 29) to close out the first half of Valley play.
The second half starts with three-straight home games against Indiana State (Feb. 3), Northern Iowa (Feb. 10) and Bradley (Feb. 12), before heading to Creighton (Feb. 17) and Drake (Feb. 19). ISU closes out the regular-season home schedule with Wichita State (Feb. 23) and Missouri State (Feb. 26). The Redbirds will be on the road to close out the year at Evansville (March 1) and Southern Illinois (March 3).
ISU will host Missouri-St. Louis in an exhibition game Tuesday, Nov. 1 in Redbird Arena.
For season-ticket information, please contact the Redbird Arena Ticket Office at (309) 438-8000, or visit GoRedbirds.com.
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