SAN ANTONIO — UTSA head women’s basketball coach Rae Rippetoe-Blair announced the program's 2009-10 schedule on Monday. The ledger is highlighted by 14 home games, four tournaments, a full slate of 16 Southland Conference contests and six teams that played in the postseason last year (Arkansas, DePaul, Florida State, Louisiana Tech, Texas and UT Arlington).
“Every year, we try to put together a tough schedule and this year is no different from looking at the teams will we will face.” said Rippetoe-Blair, who led the Roadrunners to Southland Regular Season and Tournament Championships and second straight trip to the NCAA a year ago. “Tough schedules allow us to get prepared for the conference season and tournament because we will see a lot of different styles of play. The Duel in the Desert will be a true test for us because it has five teams that went to the postseason last year.”
UTSA begins the campaign with an exhibition game against St. Edward’s on Nov. 7.
The Roadrunners open the year with a road test at NCAA Tournament participant Texas on Nov. 13 before returning the Alamo City for their home opener against Schreiner two days later.
UTSA then travels to Charleston, S.C., for the Charleston Southern Tournament on Nov. 20-21. UTSA will play at Charleston Southern on Nov. 20 and the College of Charleston the following day.
The Birds return home for a their annual UTSA Thanksgiving Classic, which is slated for Nov. 27-28 against Navy and Jacksonville, and then host Houston on Dec. 7 at the Alamodome in what will be a site rehearsal for the 2010 Women’s Final Four.
UTSA heads to Las Vegas for the Duel in the Desert on Dec. 19-21. The three-day event has the Roadrunners opening with Florida State, a 2009 NCAA Tournament squad, followed by a a possible matchup against Arkansas (WNIT participant) or DePaul (NCAA participant) the next day.
The Roadrunners close out the calendar year with their annual New Year’s Classic on Dec. 29-30. UTSA will take on Maine on the opening day and end the year against WNIT participant Louisiana Tech.
The Birds open the new year with their final non-conference game at Rice on Jan. 4 and then begin defense of their Southland Regular Season and Tournament Championships against McNeese State on Jan. 9.
Following a Jan. 13 tilt at Nicholls, the next four contests has UTSA playing West Division foes in WNIT participant UT Arlington (Jan. 16), Texas A&M-Corpus Christi (Jan. 23 road game), I-35 rival Texas State (Jan. 27) and Lamar (Jan. 30 on the road).
The month of February features eight games, beginning with a home contest against Sam Houston State on Feb. 3. A road game at Southeastern Louisiana three days later follows before the Birds return to the Convocation Center to host Central Arkansas on Feb. 10. The Roadrunners then square off against UT Arlington in the Metroplex on Feb. 13.
UTSA closes out its regular season with three of its final five games on the road, including back-to-back away contests at Sam Houston State (Feb. 20) and Northwestern State (Feb. 24). The Roadrunners end the month with a home tilt against Lamar on Feb. 27. A March 3 game at Texas State, followed by the regular season finale against Stephen F. Austin three days later wraps up the ledger.
The 2010 Southland Tournament will be played at the Merrell Center in Katy for the third year in a row from March 10-13. UTSA has won the last two editions of the postseason event that determines the league’s automatic qualifier for the NCAA Tournament.
