Monday, August 20, 2007

JOHNSON CITY, Tenn. (Aug. 20, 2007) - A first-ever trip to the Preseason WNIT, road games to BIG EAST foe Georgetown, SEC challenger Alabama and Atlantic 10 Tournament Champion Xavier, six 2007 postseason tournament participants, and 13 home contests all await the ETSU women's basketball team as head coach Karen Kemp announced her 2007-08 schedule Monday.  

The Lady Bucs' schedule features at least 14 non-conference opponents; with an option of making it 15 should ETSU reach the Preseason WNIT championship.

Following an exhibition affair with Wingate on Sunday, Nov. 4, the Lady Bucs will then travel to Bowling Green, Ky., and take on Western Kentucky in the first round of the Preseason WNIT on Friday, Nov. 9. The winner will face the victor of the Notre Dame/Miami (Ohio) contest, while the loser will be placed in a consolation bracket where they are guaranteed two more games.

After the conclusion of the tournament the Lady Bucs head back to Johnson City, and host Southern Conference Tournament Champion Chattanooga in their home opener on Tuesday, Nov. 20. ETSU remains home for the conclusion of the month of November and the beginning of December as Evansville (Nov. 24) and Big South Tournament Champion UNC Asheville (Dec. 1) visit Memorial Center.

ETSU then embarks on a five-game road trip, marking its longest of the season. The trip spans from Dec. 6 through Jan. 2, and includes trips to Davidson (Dec. 6), Xavier (Dec. 16), Radford (Dec. 20), Georgetown (Dec. 22), and Alabama (Jan. 2).

"I have always thought in order to be the best you have to compete against the best," said Kemp, whose team opens the season on the road for the eighth consecutive season. "Playing against this level of competition will only make us better and prepare us for conference play."

Following a month hiatus from home, the Lady Bucs return to Memorial Center and begin their run towards an Atlantic Sun Championship when they host newcomer USC-Upstate on Jan. 5. The Atlantic Sun features a new divisional format in 2007-08, meaning teams in the same division will meet twice, while conference members in the other division will only face each other once. The Lady Bucs will be placed in the North Division with Lipscomb, Belmont, Gardner-Webb, Campbell, and USC-Upstate. The South Division consists of Jacksonville, Stetson, Florida Gulf Coast, North Florida, Mercer, and Kennesaw State.

North Florida, Kennesaw State, and Mercer are the three conference members from the south division that visit Johnson City, while Jacksonville, Stetson and FGCU mark the three road trips for ETSU.  

Rounding out the non-conference portion of the schedule is Liberty and Appalachian State. The Lady Bucs host the Lady Flames on Jan. 8, while ETSU travels to Boone, N.C. to face the Mountaineers on Jan. 16.

The Atlantic Sun Tournament follows a rigorous regular season campaign, which will be hosted in Nashville by Lipscomb University. ETSU will look to avenge last year's conference final loss to Belmont, and hoist the Atlantic Sun Championship trophy for the first time in school history.

Click on the icon above to view a full copy of the 2007-08 Lady Buccaneer schedule. Please visit www.ETSUBucs.com for more information on ETSU women's basketball.