MOBILE, Ala. – University of South Alabama women's basketball head coach Terry Fowler finalized the 2016-17 schedule Monday with the release of the Jaguars' non-conference opponents. The non-conference schedule is highlighted three postseason opponents – Florida (NCAA), Jacksonville (NCAA) and Southern (WNIT) – along with a December contest versus North Carolina State at the Mitchell Center.
With three postseason teams and four of the 11 non-conference foes achieving 19 or more wins the previous season the '16-17 slate certainly appears on paper to be one of the most challenging for a Fowler-led club to start the season. The fourth-year Jaguar head coach had a definite purpose in mind when mapping out the non-conference schedule.
"We feel like we are the time in our program where we need to step up and challenge ourselves more in non-conference play to have ourselves better prepared for Sun Belt Conference play," Fowler said. "We were able to play Florida here at the Mitchell Center last season and to now be able to play them on a neutral floor on opening night has given our players a motivation all summer. We know that we will be facing a tough, talented NCAA tournament team in our first game of the year, and then we also face Central Florida on that trip, so we will need to be ready. We are excited about that opening week. It's provided a real energy in our program right now."
Along with the tougher opponents, Fowler also wanted to give his squad another challenge early on as five of USA's six games during the opening month are away from the Mitchell Center.
"During the first two seasons I was with this program, we struggled on the road," Fowler stated. "Last season, we were able to gain some confidence and get some wins on the road. There's no better way to try to carry that over and get our team battle-tested than playing on the road early on. It's a tough stretch for us, but in December, we play all but one game at home. It's challenging, but we wanted to challenge this group."
The Jaguars will host Auburn-Montgomery on Nov. 3 in their lone exhibition contest before tipping off the regular season. The Warhawks are coming off a 23-10 record a year ago, the most wins for the program since the '06-07 club won 28 games.
The '16-17 campaign will officially get under way eight days later when South Alabama heads to Jacksonville, Fla., to take on Florida (Nov. 11). The Gators won 22 games a year ago, an increase of nine wins from the previous season, and earned an at-large NCAA tournament berth.
Two days later, the Jags' second opponent of the season will have a connection to USA's season-opening foe as Central Florida will be directed by first-year head coach Katie Abrahamson-Henderson who joins the program after leading Albany to five-straight NCAA tournament appearances and a come-from-behind upset of UF in the opening round of last year's NCAA tourney.
Following the Nov. 13 match up with the Knights, South Alabama will return home for its lone home game during the month of November as it welcomes cross-town rival Spring Hill (Nov. 17) to the Mitchell Center. USA's busy start to the season continues two days later as USA will head back out on the road for its fourth game in eight days as the Jaguars take on former Sun Belt member New Orleans on Nov. 19 at Lakefront Arena, site of the Sun Belt Conference Championships.
USA will close out the first month of the season at the Jacksonville Thanksgiving Classic on Nov. 25-26. South Alabama will open up with North Florida on day one and then face its second NCAA tournament team when it faces Jacksonville a day later. The Dolphins are coming off a 22-11 showing and the program's first postseason trip. JU earned the Atlantic Sun's automatic bid with a win over Florida Gulf Coast in the league's tourney. Jacksonville was 14-1 on its home floor a year ago.
December will see the Jags begin the month with four-straight home games, beginning with Southern Mississippi on Dec. 4. USA will break for eight days for final exams and then return to action against Southern on Dec. 12. Southern finished in a three-way tie for first in the Southwestern Athletic Conference and advanced to the WNIT. The Jaguars have won 19 or more games for each of the last three seasons.
USA will then take on William Carey (Dec. 15) and close out the homestand against North Carolina State (Dec. 19), who won 20 games a year ago. The meeting versus N.C. State will mark the first meeting versus an Atlantic Coast Conference opponent since the '13-14 campaign (at Wake Forest) and the first regular-season game on the Jaguars' home floor versus a member from the league in 29 years. The last team to face USA in Mobile during the regular season was Clemson back on Dec. 14, 1987. The last ACC club to take on the Jags in the Mitchell Center was Florida State in the 2004 WNIT.
South Alabama will close out the non-conference portion of its schedule on the road against Conference USA member UAB on Dec. 21 before breaking for the Christmas holidays. USA will then return from the break and open Sun Belt play with in-state rival Troy on Dec. 31. The remainder of the league schedule was announced back in April.
Also announced on Monday was USA's opponent for its annual "Pack the House" game, as well as the opponents for the program's "Pink Games". The Jaguars' "Pack the House" contest is set for Jan. 26 against Georgia State. For the first time in program history, South Alabama will hold two "Pink Games" – vs. Coastal Carolina (Feb. 16) and vs. Appalachian State (Feb. 18).
For more information about South Alabama athletics, check back with www.usajaguars.com, and follow the Jaguars at www.twitter.com/USAJaguarSports. Season tickets for all Jaguar athletic events can be purchased by calling (251) 461-1USA (1872).
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