The University of Mississippi Athletics
Ole Miss Announces 2003-04 Women's Basketball Schedule
8/11/2003 | Women's Basketball
Aug. 11, 2003
OXFORD, Miss. - The Ole Miss women's basketball squad will face a challenging schedule in 2003-04, Rebel head coach Carol Ross announced Monday. In addition to the Southeastern Conference slate, the Rebels open the season in the Preseason Women's National Invitational Tournament (WNIT) and also have tough non-league road encounters at Western Kentucky and Tennessee Tech.
"Any time you can open the schedule with an opportunity to win a championship it gets your players' attention right away," said Ross, who enters her first season at the helm of the Ole Miss women's basketball program. "Being asked to play in the Preseason WNIT and host a first-round game is a tremendous compliment to our program. We will certainly open the season with a bang."
The field for the Preseason WNIT, the prestigious tournament that kicks off the women's college basketball season, includes seven teams that appeared in last year's NCAA Tournament such as Texas Tech, UC-Santa Barbara, Rutgers, Western Kentucky, Utah, Liberty and Cincinnati. All games will be played on home campuses, which are determined after each round.
Following an exhibition game in early November, the Rebels will open play in the Preseason WNIT Nov. 14 when they play host to Jackson State. Second-round games will be played Nov. 16-17, with the semifinals on Nov. 20 and the championship on Nov. 23.
In addition the Preseason WNIT, Ole Miss will appear in two other holiday tournaments. The Rebels will travel to Memphis, Tenn., on Nov. 28-29 for the Memphis Thanksgiving Classic. Ole Miss will play Nebraska in a first-round game. Eastern Kentucky and host Memphis round out the tourney field. The Rebels will also play in the Lehigh Christmas City Classic on Dec. 30-31. They will open play against Mount St. Mary's, with Marshall and Lehigh completing the field.
Road games at Belmont (Nov. 25), Chattanooga (Dec. 5), Lipscomb (Dec. 14), Birmingham Southern (Dec. 16), Western Kentucky (Dec. 18) and Tennessee Tech (Jan. 3) and home battles versus McNeese State (Dec. 1) and Arkansas-Pine Bluff (Jan. 5) will provide great challenges for the Rebels as they prepare for their SEC schedule.
"We are going to be on the road in some very tough venues early," said Ross. "That is going to challenge us and expose any weaknesses we might have on the court. We will make the most of our non-conference schedule in order to find out where we are before we hit SEC play."
The Rebels open their SEC slate at home for the third-straight season whey they host Florida on Jan. 8. In addition to the Gators, Ole Miss will host Mississippi State (Jan. 18), Georgia (Jan. 22), Kentucky (Feb. 1), Auburn (Feb. 12), Tennessee (Feb. 22) and Arkansas (Feb. 29). Ole Miss will travel for games at Arkansas (Jan. 11), Alabama (Jan. 15), Vanderbilt (Jan. 25), South Carolina (Feb. 5), Mississippi State (Feb. 8), Georgia (Feb. 15) and LSU (Feb. 26).
The 2004 SEC Tournament will be held March 4-7 at the Gaylord Entertainment Center in Nashville, Tenn.
"The SEC will again be one of the top conferences in the nation," said Ross. "This league seems to get tougher every year, and this season will be no different."
Ole Miss returns nine letterwinners and four starters from last year's team that posted a 12-16 record.
2003-04 Ole Miss Women's Basketball Schedule
November - 12, Mike White's All-Stars (Exhibition), 14 Jackson State (Preseason WNIT), 16, Rutgers/St. Peter's (Preseason WNIT), 20, Preseason WNIT Semifinals, 23, Preseason WNIT Finals, 25, at Belmont, 28, vs. Nebraska (Memphis Thanksgiving Classic), 29, vs. Memphis/Eastern Kentucky (Memphis Thanksgiving Classic)
December - 1, McNeese State, 6, at Chattanooga, 14, at Lipscomb, 16, at Birmingham Southern, 18, at Western Kentucky, 30, vs. Mount St. Mary's (Lehigh Christmas City Classic), 31, vs. Lehigh/Marshall (Lehigh Christmas City Classic)
January - 3, at Tennessee Tech, 5, Arkansas-Pine Bluff, 8, Florida, 11, at Arkansas, 15, at Alabama, 18, Mississippi State, 22, Georgia, 25, at Vanderbilt
February - 1, Kentucky, 5, at South Carolina, 8, at Mississippi State, 12, Auburn, 15, at Georgia, 22, Tennessee, 26, at LSU, 29, Arkansas
March - 4-7, SEC Tournament (Gaylord Entertainment Center, Nashville, Tenn.)
