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Illinois Women's Basketball Schedule Announced
Sept. 4, 2008
Printable 2008-09 Women's Basketball Schedule (PDF)
The University of Illinois women's basketball team announced its 2008-09 schedule on Thursday, with an especially challenging non-conference schedule that includes five neutral site games prior to the always-grueling Big Ten schedule. The Orange and Blue will play at least 13 games against teams that participated in last year's NCAA Tournament and have a total of 14 home games at the Assembly Hall (13 regular season and one exhibition). "We have a non-conference schedule set to challenge our players each and every game," said head coach Jolette Law, who is entering her second season at the helm of the Fighting Illini. "I believe in order to be the best, you must play the best. Facing teams like Maryland, Virginia and North Carolina early will help us prepare for the Big Ten season and put us in the best possible position for postseason play. In addition, this schedule will also bring the best to Assembly Hall for our fans to witness exciting women's basketball." The Illini will have at least nine nationally televised games this season, with highlights being a Jan. 3 home game against Minnesota that will air on CBS and a Feb. 15 showdown at Purdue on ESPN2. Seven Illinois conference games are currently scheduled to air on the Big Ten Network, with the potential of as many as nine to be shown on the BTN depending on wildcard selections later in the year. Non-conference television information has not yet been released. "Having so many games on broadcast on CBS, ESPN2 and the Big Ten Network will be great exposure for our program," Law said. "I want the rest of the country to see what Illinois basketball is all about." After an exhibition game against SIU-Edwardsville at the Assembly Hall on Nov. 9, the Illini open the regular season with a road game on Nov. 14 at IPFW in Fort Wayne, Ind. Three consecutive home games at the Assembly Hall follow, with Eastern Illinois in town on Nov. 16 for the regular season home-opener and then a border battle against Missouri scheduled for Nov. 19. The Orange and Blue then play host to perennial Atlantic 10 power and 2008 NCAA Tournament participant Temple on Nov. 23 to round out the homestand. The Illini will continue their tradition of taking a trip around the Thanksgiving holiday by heading to sunny Cancun for the Caribbean Challenge Nov. 26-28. Illinois will face Montana and South Dakota State in the tournament before tipping off against perennial ACC power and 2008 NCAA Elite Eight participant Maryland on Nov. 28. More information on the Caribbean Challenge can be found here. In recent years, Illinois has taken trips to Hawaii, Los Angeles, Philadelphia, New York, Colorado and Miami during the week of Thanksgiving. The schedule gets no easier after the trip south of the border as the Illini return to Champaign-Urbana for the Big Ten/ACC Challenge with Virginia coming to town. Next up is Bradley on Dec. 6 in the annual Lexus December to Remember Classic at the United Center in Chicago, followed by a road contest at UW-Milwaukee on Dec. 10. Illinois closes out the non-conference portion of its schedule by facing another ACC powerhouse, North Carolina, on Dec. 20 for the Carolina Challenge in Myrtle Beach, S.C. The game will be a homecoming of sorts for Law, as she grew up in Florence, S.C., about an hour from Myrtle Beach. After playing the Tar Heels, the Orange and Blue have just one day of rest before opening up the Big Ten season against reigning Big Ten Tournament champion Purdue on Dec. 22 at the Assembly Hall. The Illini will play five of their first seven conference games at home and will close with three of their last four on the road, including the final two games of the regular season at Iowa (Feb. 26) and Minnesota (March 1). The game in Iowa City will see Law return to her alma mater for the first time as a head coach. The Big Ten slate will feature 18 league games for the second straight season, meaning Illinois will face every Big Ten team twice except for Michigan and Michigan State. The Illini travel to Ann Arbor on Jan. 8 for their only meeting with the Wolverines and will host MSU on Feb. 5 for their lone match-up with the Spartans. The Fighting Illini's final home game is on Feb. 22 against Penn State, where they'll honor seniors Chelsea Gordon and Erin McCarthy. The 2009 Big Ten Tournament will be held March 5-8 at Conseco Fieldhouse in Indianapolis. Last season, the Illini nearly took the Big Ten Tournament Title and an automatic NCAA Tournament berth with a thrilling run to the title game as the No. 9 seed. Only a buzzer-beater by Purdue in the championship game kept the Illini from going to the Big Dance. Still, Illinois finished with its first 20-win season in eight years and earned its 11th postseason appearance in the last 12 years, advancing to the third round of the WNIT. TICKET INFORMATION
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