Uof M Women’s Basketball Releases 2010-11 Non-Conference Schedule

The following was sent to me via e-mail from the University of Minnesota Athletic Communications Office

For Immediate Release August 17, 2010

Women’s Basketball Releases 2010-11 Non-Conference Schedule

Head coach Pam Borton’s University of Minnesota women’s basketball program announced its 2010-11 non-conference schedule today, with the Golden Gophers playing a total of 13 games, including nine at Williams Arena. Game times and television rights for the non-conference schedule will be released at a later date.

The Gophers’ non-league slate will present a challenge, with a total of five games against teams that advanced to postseason play in 2010, including Baylor (Final Four), led by 6-foot-8 All-America center Brittney Griner, and San Diego State (Sweet 16). The team will participate in three tournaments, with potential matchups against three other squads that made last year’s NCAA Tournament field.

“We are very excited about the challenging non-conference schedule that we have put together for the upcoming season,” Borton said. “Our players have been working hard in preparation for an exciting season.”

Minnesota opens its 2010-11 regular season by playing host to a four-team field at the inaugural Best Buy Classic on Saturday and Sunday, Nov. 13-14. The visiting teams taking part include UW Green Bay, which advanced to the Second Round of last year’s NCAA Tournament, as well as George Washington and Northern Illinois. The Golden Gophers’ season-opener versus NIU will take place following the UWGB-GW game.

The Gophers will then take part in the first Big Ten/BCS Challenge when they play host to the University of Pittsburgh on Wednesday, Nov. 17. The Panthers are coming off a trip to the 2010 WNIT.

For the first time in the program’s history, Minnesota will play host to two in-season tournaments, as it welcomes South Dakota, Dayton, and UW Milwaukee to Williams Arena for the Subway Classic on Saturday and Sunday, Nov. 20-21. Dayton, which won an NCAA Tournament First Round game, will face the Coyotes, followed by the Gophers and Panthers in the late game.

The team will spend its Thanksgiving weekend in Reno, Nev., as it participates in the University of Nevada’s Nugget Classic on Friday and Saturday, Nov. 26-27. The host Wolf Pack will match up against North Carolina State’s Wolfpack in the opening game, followed by Minnesota and San Diego State, which is where Gophers Associate Head Coach Barb Smith served as head coach during 1997-2002.

The month of December opens with the Golden Gophers playing host to Virginia Tech for the annual Big Ten/ACC Challenge Dec. 2. Minnesota is 1-3 in Big Ten/ACC Challenge games, and the Hokies defeated Minnesota during the event’s first year in 2007-08.

Three days later (Dec. 5), Minnesota travels to Waco, Texas, for the inaugural Big Ten/Big 12 Challenge. There, the Gophers will take the court against Baylor and Griner in what should be the team’s most challenging non-league contest.

Minnesota then closes its non-conference slate with three of four games at Williams Arena, playing host to Southern University (Dec. 9), Cal Poly (Dec. 12), and Northern Arizona (Dec. 22), with a Dec. 16 road trip to Tallahassee, Fla., for a contest at Florida A&M.

The Golden Gophers first games will be a pair of exhibitions at Williams Arena, with Southwest Minnesota State providing the opposition on Wednesday, Nov. 3, and UM Crookston taking the court on Sunday, Nov. 7.

Minnesota’s Big Ten schedule will be released at a later date.

Season tickets to see the Golden Gophers are on sale now, and can be purchased by calling the University of Minnesota Ticket Office at 612.624.8080 or 1.800.UGOPHER.

University of Minnesota Women’s Basketball

2010-11 Non-Conference Schedule

Date Opponent Location Time

Nov. 3 Southwest Minnesota State (Exhibition) Williams Arena TBD

Nov. 7 UM Crookston (Exhibition) Williams Arena TBD

Nov. 13-14 Best Buy Classic

Nov. 13 UW Green Bay vs. George Washington Williams Arena TBD

Minnesota vs. Northern Illinois Williams Arena TBD

Nov. 14 Consolation Game Williams Arena TBD

Championship Game Williams Arena TBD

Nov. 17 Pittsburgh (Big Ten/BCS Challenge) Williams Arena TBD

Nov. 20-21 Subway Classic

Nov. 20 South Dakota vs. Dayton Williams Arena TBD

Minnesota vs. UW Milwaukee Williams Arena TBD

Nov. 21 Consolation Game Williams Arena TBD

Championship Game Williams Arena TBD

Nov. 26-27 at Nugget Classic

Nov. 26 Nevada vs. North Carolina State Reno, Nev. TBD

Minnesota vs. San Diego State Reno, Nev. TBD

Nov. 27 Consolation Game Reno, Nev. TBD

Championship Game Reno, Nev. TBD

Dec. 2 Virginia Tech (Big Ten/ACC Challenge) Williams Arena TBD

Dec. 5 at Baylor (Big Ten/Big 12 Challenge) Waco, Texas TBD

Dec. 9 Southern Williams Arena TBD

Dec. 12 Cal Poly Williams Arena TBD

Dec. 16 at Florida A&M Tallahassee, Fla. TBD

Dec. 22 Northern Arizona Williams Arena TBD

- UM -