Nonconference 2015-16 schedule announced for women’s hoops

PROVO, Utah — Six teams that competed in postseason action along with powerhouse programs from the Southeastern, Mountain West, Big 12 and Pac-12 conferences will provide a grueling slate of games for the BYU women’s basketball team in 2015-16.

“This is probably the hardest nonconference schedule we’ve had in my time here,” said BYU head coach Jeff Judkins.

“We are going to be playing some of the top women’s basketball programs in the country, many of which, are favored to win their respective conference titles. We’re excited to represent our university and conference well in these games. This tough schedule will prepare us for another extremely competitive West Coast Conference race and will give us a strong RPI score at the end of the season.”

The Cougars’ stiff competition has the team playing eight of its 11 nonconference contests on the road. BYU starts the season hosting Utah Valley University on Friday, Nov. 13 in a 3 p.m. tip.

Two road games against programs that are coming off 20-plus win seasons and participated in last year’s postseason tournaments have the Cougars at Oklahoma on Nov. 19 and at Colorado State on Nov. 21. The Sooners, who finished second in the Big 12 last year, advanced to the second round of the NCAA tournament, while the Rams won the MWC regular season title and played in the first round of the WNIT.

The team returns home to host Utah State on Tuesday, Nov. 24 in a Kids’ Day event that tips off at 11 a.m. BYU does not return home until Dec. 12 when it plays its final nonconference game against in-state foe Utah.

Three straight weeks of road games begins the Thanksgiving holiday weekend when the Cougars travel to Northridge, California, to compete in the Radisson Chatsworth Thanksgiving Classic hosted by CSUN. BYU will play Georgia, from the SEC, on Friday, Nov. 27 then will battle either Penn State (Big-10) or tourney hosts CSUN, (Big West) on Saturday. Georgia and Penn State are first-time opponents for BYU.

The following week the Cougars find themselves in Laie, Hawaii, for the Tom Weston Invitational, Dec. 2-5. BYU will play BYU-Hawaii on Wednesday, Dec. 2, the University of Hawaii, Thursday, Dec. 3 and Texas A&M on Saturday, Dec. 5. Both the Rainbow Wahine and the Aggies competed in postseason play last year. This will be the first ever meeting versus Texas A&M. Hawaii is favored to win this year’s Big West regular season crown. All games will be played at the Cannon Activities Center on the BYU-H campus.

A game at Weber State at 7 p.m. on Thursday, Dec. 10 has the Cougars rounding out their three-week, six-game road swing. 

On Saturday, Dec. 12, BYU returns to the comfort of the Marriott Center hosting in-state and Pac-12 foe Utah in a 2 p.m., tip.

The defending 2015 West Coast Conference tournament champion Cougars will get set for league play beginning Dec. 19. That schedule will be announced by the WCC later this month.

As a precursor to the season, BYU will host one exhibition game in Provo. Ft. Lewis College comes to the Marriott Center on Thursday, Nov. 5 at 7 p.m.