‘Cats Head to Arkansas and Texas as Part of 2010-11 Women’s Basketball Schedule
9/10/2010 1:02:34 PM | Women's Basketball
Gavin McFarlin -- Assistant SID
DAVIDSON, N.C. — New head coach Michele Savage and the Davidson women's basketball team will tip their season off by making a trip to the state of Arkansas for the first time in program history as well as head to Texas for a Thanksgiving tournament hosted by University of Texas-San Antonio, they are just a few highlights from the 2010-11 schedule released today.
In addition to those contests, the Wildcats will host William & Mary, Radford and Princeton as part of its non-conference schedule, while also partaking in a 20-game Southern Conference slate.
“As a first-year head coach, I'm as excited as the players are to start our official practice in a few short weeks,” said Savage. The Wildcats will start their regular practice schedule on Oct. 4 as the NCAA moved up the start date.
“This year's schedule will be a challenging one for our young team,” said Savage. “Our young players will need to be ready to go very early in the season. The opening weekend takes us to the state of Arkansas – a nice homecoming for senior Ashley Lax. Going up against two outstanding teams on the road in the opening weekend of the season, will test our team from the very start. We also have another “homecoming trip” when we head out to the UTSA for their Thanksgiving Tournament as senior Chloe Woodington will get a chance to play in front of her family and friends.”
During the past nine years, Davidson has been no stranger to playing a tough non-conference schedule to prepare itself for SoCon play. The Wildcats have played the likes of Duke, North Carolina, Wake Forest, Vanderbilt, Nebraska, NC State, Virginia Tech, Michigan State, Missouri, Gonzaga, Georgia, Georgia Tech, Montana, Virginia, Xavier and Auburn.
The season starts out with Davidson playing seven of its first nine games away from the friendly confines of Belk Arena.
The Wildcats get their 2010-11 season underway with games against Arkansas Little-Rock and Arkansas, Nov. 12-14. This will be the first matchup for the 'Cats against both programs. UALR is coming off a very successful season after going 27-7 and making the NCAA Tournament for the first time in school history. The Trojans upset sixth-seeded Georgia Tech in the first round, before their season ended against Oklahoma. The Razorbacks finished 12-18 a season ago.
Davidson hosts William & Mary for its home opener on Friday, Nov. 19. The two teams squared off last year with the Tribe taking home a 74-63 decision. It was the first meeting between the two schools since 2000.
Back on the road, the Wildcats continue their boarder rivalry with Winthrop, which went 13-18 last year, Nov. 22. The 'Cats have dominated the series as of late, rattling off nine straight wins, including a 61-40 victory in 2008 during the Eagles' home tournament.
Rounding out the month of November, Davidson heads to the state of Texas where it will play in San Antonio at the UTSA Thanksgiving Tournament. The Wildcats will first play North Texas, Nov. 26, and then take on the host Roadrunners, Nov. 27. This will be the second meeting against UTSA as the Wildcats dropped a 75-69 decision to the Roadrunners back in 2005 at the Rice Tournament. UTSA is coming off a 16-14 campaign a year ago and it won its own tournament last season.
The Wildcats return home for a single game against Radford to start December as they will play three of their four games during the month at home. Twice last year weather caused the game between the two schools to be canceled. In the past five years, Davidson has gone 42-17 overall at Belk Arena, hitting the 10-win mark twice in that stretch.
Davidson will have two more non-conference games on the schedule against Princeton, Dec. 29, and Longwood, Jan. 28. The Tigers are coming off a 26-3 season in which they went 14-0 in the Ivy League and advanced to the NCAA Tournament for the first time. They return all five starters. The Wildcats are 2-0 against Longwood after defeating the Lancers 69-53 last year at home.
After playing Radford and getting a 16-day break for final exams, Davidson opens SoCon play with a road game at Elon, Dec. 20. The 'Cats will also square off against UNC Greensboro before the 2010 calendar year comes to an end.
“The conference race is predicted to be a close one and I feel our non-conference games will prepare us well for the battles we will face against our SoCon counterparts,” said Savage.
Opening the new year will be a Jan. 3 contest at home against College of Charleston, which split with the 'Cats last year in their season-series. CofC and Appalachian State (23-12 last year) reached the inaugural Women's Basketball Invitational a season ago, with ASU claiming the title on its home floor.
Following that game, Davidson will alternate three road games with three home games followed by three more road games during the month of January. Two of the home games will be against Samford (Jan. 14) and Chattanooga (Jan. 16), which each reached the SoCon Tournament finals a year ago and will again be favorites in the league. The Bulldogs advanced to the second round of the WNIT and finished 23-11 (14-6 SoCon). Chattanooga, which won its eighth SoCon Championship title in the last 10 years, closed out the 2009-10 season with a 24-9 record (16-4 SoCon) and reached the NCAA Tournament for the ninth time.
February has Davidson playing four road games and four home games, with their final three regular-season games at home. The Wildcats' annual PinkZone game will be Feb. 5 against Western Carolina at 2 p.m. The SoCon Tournament returns to Chattanooga, Tenn., at McKenzie Arena on the campus of UTC, March 4-7.
Davidson returns nine letterwinners and two starters, including All-SoCon Freshman Team member Sophia Aleksandravicius (Pound Ridge, N.Y.) who averaged 12 points and eight rebounds last year. The Wildcats finished 14-15 and 12-8 in the league a year ago, their seventh straight winning season in SoCon play.
