#HailStateHoops Releases 2015-16 Non-Conference Slate
August 18, 2015 | Women's Basketball
STARKVILLE, Miss. – Six games against postseason teams, including four that advanced to the NCAA Tournament, highlight Mississippi State's 2015-16 women's basketball non-conference schedule.
Vic Schaefer's squad will travel to Texas, an NCAA Sweet 16 squad a year ago, on Dec. 2. MSU will also face a pair of second-round squads in Florida Gulf Coast and South Florida. State faces FGCU in the opening game of the Puerto Rico Classic (Dec. 19) before closing out the pre-SEC slate against the Bulls in the SEC-AAC Challenge in Jacksonville, Florida.
“We feel like we have put together a challenging non-conference schedule,” Schaefer said. “We took to heart some of the concerns the NCAA Tournament selection committee had about our schedule a year ago, and we feel like we have gone out and put together a really solid early schedule with six teams that played in the postseason.
“We have the opportunity to open December against a Top 10 caliber program in Texas and then close the month against a South Florida team that could be in the Top 10 and have the leading scorer in the country as a senior (Courtney Williams). Add in three tough games in Puerto Rico against Florida Gulf Coast, Western Michigan and SMU, a road game against Louisiana Tech and a game against in-state foe Southern Miss, and you have a really tough schedule. We feel like we have a really good team, but they have to understand that they will need to be ready from the tip.”
After hosting Mississippi College in a Nov. 10 exhibition, Schaefer's squad officially begins the campaign Nov. 13 against Samford in a doubleheader with the Bulldog men's squad.
That contest against the Birmingham-based Bulldogs starts a five-game home stretch to begin the year.
MSU hosts Grambling (Nov. 21), Norfolk State (Nov. 27) and NCAA Tournament foe Savannah State (Nov. 29) before hitting the road for the Dec. 2 contest against a Texas squad that went 24-11 and finished 22nd in the USA Today Coaches Poll last season.
Mississippi State hosts Tennessee State on Dec. 6 and travels to Louisiana Tech on Dec. 13 before taking on in-state foe Southern Miss, a squad that advanced to the WNIT quarterfinals last season.
The Bulldogs finish the pre-Christmas slate with a trek to the Puerto Rico Classic. After opening Dec. 19 against a Florida Gulf Coast team that finished as high as No. 20 in the nation, the Bulldogs wrap the three-game event against WNIT participant Western Michigan and SMU.
Fans can join the Bulldogs in Puerto Rico through fan packages found online at http://www.sporttours.net.
State meets Southeastern Louisiana at the Hump on Dec. 28, and two days later ventures to Jacksonville to meet a USF squad that ranked as high as 24th following a 27-8 campaign.
That contest will be the first meeting between the squads since USF defeated the Bulldogs in the 2014 WNIT quarterfinals on a 3-pointer at the horn. It promises to matchup two of the nation's top-returning scorers in MSU sophomore Victoria Vivians (14.9 ppg) and South Florida senior Courtney Williams (20.3 ppg).
Vivians leads a Mississippi State squad that returns three of the top four scorers from last year's team that went 27-7 overall and 11-5 in the SEC en route to advancing to the second round of the NCAA Tournament.
Schaefer's squad posted its highest ranking in the Associated Press poll (No. 12) while finishing 18th in the USA Today Coaches Poll.
Fans can get season ticket information by phone at 1-888-GO-DAWGS or online at www.hailstate.com/tickets.
Mississippi State Women's Basketball
2015-16 Non-Conference Schedule
Nov. 10 Tues. MISSISSIPPI COLLEGE (Exh.) 7 p.m.
Nov. 13 Fri. SAMFORD TBA
Nov. 21 Sat. GRAMBLING TBA
Nov. 24 Tues. MISSISSIPPI VALLEY STATE 7 p.m.
Nov. 27 Fri. NORFOLK STATE 6 p.m.
Nov. 29 Sun. SAVANNAH STATE 2 p.m.
Dec. 2 Wed. at Texas TBA
Dec. 6 Sun. TENNESSEE STATE 2 p.m.
Dec. 13 Sun. at Louisiana Tech 3 p.m.
Dec. 16 Wed. SOUTHERN MISS 7 p.m.
Dec. 19 Sat. # vs. Florida Gulf Coast 10 a.m.
Dec. 20 Sun. # vs. Western Michigan 12:15 p.m.
Dec. 21 Mon. # vs. SMU 12:15 p.m.
Dec. 28 Mon. SOUTHEASTERN LOUISIANA 7 p.m.
Dec. 30 Wed. % vs. South Florida TBA
