Women’s basketball will play at least 12 of last year’s postseason teams as part of its 27-game regular season schedule, the team announced Thursday.
The Colonials full schedule includes at least 11 non-conference games before a 16-game Atlantic 10 slate. Three of GW’s games will be broadcast on national television.
“We have a very demanding schedule this year with six non-conference opponents who played in the postseason last year, including four in the NCAA Tournament,” head coach Jonathan Tsipis said in a release. “We always want our non-conference schedule to prepare us for the challenges of Atlantic 10 play, where every game is a battle.”
Before their regular season opener against Florida Gulf Coast University, the Colonials will play an exhibition game at home against Virginia Union on Nov. 9. The first official home game will be against Bowie State on Nov. 19.
Following Bowie State, 2014 Final Four team Maryland will come to the Smith Center on Nov. 22. It will be the second year in a row that GW has hosted a team coming off a Final Four run. Last November, the Colonials upset then-No. 10 California at home.
“The ability to have top-10 teams play in the Smith Center on a yearly basis is a great opportunity for our program,” Tsipis said. “We look forward to packing the arena for this game – and every game – like we did for the White Out against Cal last year.”
GW will take on at least 12 opponents that were ranked in the NCAA’s top 100 in RPI last season. The team will play Dayton (16) twice during A-10 play and N.C. State (18) in the opener of the Junkanoo Jam on Nov. 28. The Colonials could also face Purdue (9) in the Bahamas-based tournament.
An additional game could be added to the non-conference schedule in the coming weeks, according to the team release.
The conference schedule will open against the Flyers on Jan. 4, which will be broadcast on ESPNU. Then on Feb. 8, the Colonials will host Dayton at the Smith Center, a game that’s scheduled to be broadcast on CBS Sports Network. The CBS Sports Network will also air GW’s road game at Massachusetts on Jan. 18.
A tough stretch of conference games for GW comes in mid-February, with three-straight match ups against teams that played in the postseason last year. The Colonials will host St. Bonaventure, which advanced to the second round of last year’s WNIT tournament, on Feb. 15 before heading to VCU, another WNIT team, on Feb. 18. On Feb. 21, GW will host Fordham, the defending A-10 champion.
The A-10 Championship will once again be held at the Richmond Coliseum, and will take place from March 4 to 8.
Nine letterwinners return from last year’s 23-11 team, the most successful season for GW in six years. The team posted an 11-5 record in A-10 play, and made it to the conference semifinals before ending the year in the third round of the WNIT – the program’s first postseason game since 2008. Five freshman have joined the team who will play alongside returners like A-10 All-Conference Second Team selection Jonquel Jones and A-10 Rookie of the Year Caira Washington.
