Women's Basketball announces 2006-07 schedule
08/23/2006 | 12:00:00 | Women's Basketball
Aug. 23, 2006
www.siusalukis.com
CARBONDALE, Ill. - Home games and a balanced non-conference schedule highlight the 2006-07 Southern Illinois University women's basketball schedule.
SIU enters this year's campaign with five non-conference home dates, including three-straight games in SIU Arena to open the season. The Salukis will face Missouri in the home opener Nov. 12.
Nearby Murray State (Nov. 17) and Saint Louis (Nov. 21) will also visit.
"I think this is a tough schedule," Saluki head coach Dana Eikenberg said. "To open up against a Big 12 team with NCAA experience will be a challenge, but it also gives us an opportunity to build character and take the next step."
The Missouri matchup is part of an 11-game, non-conference slate which features teams from the Big Ten, Big 12, Big Sky, Ohio Valley, Sun Belt, Atlantic 10 and West Coast Conferences.
The Salukis travel to San Francisco over the Thanksgiving holiday for the Odwalla Tournament, hosted by the University of San Francisco. The Salukis face USF in the first round of the tournament Friday, Nov. 24. SIU then faces Kentucky or Delaware the following day.
"I think the San Francisco tournament gives us an opportunity to play three great teams," Eikenberg said. "We could face another NCAA team in Kentucky, or a tough-minded Delaware. All the teams in the tournament have respectable RPIs and finished in the top tier of their conferences."
The Salukis will spend the first two weeks of December on the road traveling to Weber State( Dec. 2), South Alabama (Dec. 5), South Dakota State (Dec. 9) and Indiana (Dec. 16).
"The December road swing is going to be tough," Eikenberg said. "Road trips like this will build character. We want to be a better road team in the Valley and I think this stretch will help us get there."
In addition to their 11 non-conference games, the Salukis play an 18-game schedule in the Valley, which takes all 10 teams to its postseason tournament for the second-straight season.
Drake will host the 2006 State Farm MVC Women's Basketball Championship at The Knapp Center on Mar. 8-11.
SIU opens league play on the road at Wichita State (Dec. 28) and Missouri State (Dec. 30).