Rutgers Announces 2005-2006 Women's Basketball Schedule
Sep 08 | Women's Basketball
PISCATAWAY, NJ – The Rutgers women’s basketball team has announced its 27-game 2005-2006 schedule, one that features 13 games at the Louis Brown Athletic Center, 11 teams that played in the 2005 NCAA Tournament and six programs that competed in last year’s Postseason WNIT. All game dates are tentative and subject to change. Game times will be released at a later date.
Rutgers will return nine letterwinners and four starters from a 2004-2005 team that posted a 28-7 overall record and a 14-2 mark in the BIG EAST Conference, earning the Scarlet Knights their first outright BIG EAST regular-season title. RU advanced to the final of the BIG EAST Tournament and the Elite Eight of the NCAA Tournament, and finished seventh in the final WBCA/ESPN/USA Today Top 25 Coaches Poll.
After hosting the New York Gazelles AAU Team in an exhibition contest Saturday, Nov. 19, RU will officially kickoff the season at the Junkanoo Jam Nov. 25-26 on Grand Bahama Island.
The Scarlet Knights will face North Florida in the Junkanoo Jam Freeport Division’s first round Friday, Nov. 25. Iowa State and North Carolina State will meet in the other first-round game Nov. 25, with the consolation and championship games being contested Saturday, Nov. 26. All games will be played at St. George’s High School on Grand Bahama Island. Both Iowa State and N.C. State advanced to the first round of the 2005 NCAA Tournament.
This will mark the second straight Thanksgiving that Rutgers will play in a Basketball Travelers tournament. Last fall, RU won the St. John Division of the Paradise Jam in the U.S. Virgin Islands.
Rutgers will play its first official home contest Tuesday, Nov. 29, against Bethune-Cookman. That game will be the first of 13 this season at the RAC, a place where the Scarlet Knights posted a perfect 13-0 record last season.
The Scarlet Knights will then head to a very familiar environment for three members of the RU coaching staff, as Rutgers will compete at the KCRG-TV 9 Hawkeye Challenge Dec. 3-4 in Iowa City, IA. Rutgers head coach C. Vivian Stringer led Iowa to nine NCAA Tournament appearances in her 12 seasons (1983-95) at Iowa, including the 1993 Final Four, while current RU associate head coach Jolette Law (’90) and coordinator of operations Michelle Edwards (’88) played their collegiate ball at Carver-Hawkeye Arena under Stringer’s direction. Rutgers will face San Jose State in the first round of the Hawkeye Challenge Saturday, Dec. 3, while the host Hawkeyes and Vermont will square-off in the other first-round game. The consolation and championship games will be held Sunday, Dec. 4. Aside from Rutgers, the field will be highlighted by the host Hawkeyes, who went 23-10 and advanced to the semifinals of the 2005 WNIT.
The Hawkeye Challenge will begin an arduous 12-day stretch for the Scarlet Knights, who will play six games in five different locations. RU will open BIG EAST Conference play Tuesday, Dec. 6, at Providence, followed by a home contest against Old Dominion (2005 NCAA Tournament first round) Friday, Dec. 9. The Scarlet Knights will then play at Princeton Sunday, Dec. 11, and at Ole Miss, another first-round NCAA Tournament participant, Wednesday, Dec. 14, to finish the stretch.
Rutgers will host St. Thomas Aquinas College in an exhibition contest Sunday, Dec. 18, before an extended break for the holidays. The Scarlet Knights will return to competitive play Friday, Dec. 30, when they host Texas. The Lady Longhorns were 22-9 last season and advanced to the second round of the NCAA Tournament.
Rutgers will start the new year and resume BIG EAST play at Cincinnati Tuesday, Jan. 3, followed by a Saturday, Jan. 7, game at Michigan State. The Spartans advanced to last season’s national championship game, compiling a 33-4 record along the way.
RU will play at BIG EAST newcomer South Florida (WNIT second round) Wednesday, Jan. 11, before starting a four-game homestand. The Scarlet Knights will host in-state foe Seton Hall Saturday, Jan. 14, before taking on 2005 NCAA Tournament second-round opponent Temple (28-4) Thursday, Jan. 19. Rutgers will finish the four-game stretch with contests against Louisville (NCAA Tournament first round) Saturday, Jan. 21, and Notre Dame (NCAA Tournament second round) Tuesday, Jan. 24.
The Scarlet Knights will finish the month of January at Georgetown Saturday, Jan. 28, then host St. John’s (WNIT second round) Wednesday, Feb. 1, and DePaul (NCAA Tournament second round) Saturday, Feb. 4.
To start the only home-and-home series of the season for RU, the Scarlet Knights will travel to Connecticut to face the Huskies Tuesday, Feb. 7. UConn finished last season with a 25-8 overall mark, advancing to the regional semifinals of the NCAA Tournament.
A game at West Virginia (WNIT runner-up) Friday, Feb. 10, will be followed by home contests against Villanova (WNIT first round) Tuesday, Feb. 14, and Syracuse Saturday, Feb. 18. Rutgers will play two of its final three regular-season games on the road, visiting Marquette (WNIT first round) Wednesday, Feb. 22, and Pittsburgh Saturday, Feb. 25, before finishing the regular season Monday, Feb. 27, at home against Connecticut.
Rutgers will play each member of the BIG EAST Conference once this season (15 games) and will play one opponent (Connecticut) twice for a total of 16 league games. The top 12 teams will qualify for the 2006 BIG EAST Tournament, to be held March 4-7 at the Hartford (CT) Civic Center.
Tentative 2005-2006 Rutgers Women’s Basketball Schedule
Day Date Opponent
Sat. Nov. 19 NEW YORK GAZELLES AAU (Exhibition)
Fri.-Sat. Nov. 25-26 Junkanoo Jam (Grand Bahama Island)
Fri. Nov. 25 vs. North Florida
Sat. Nov. 26 Consolation/Championship (Iowa State/N.C. State)
Tues. Nov. 29 BETHUNE-COOKMAN
Sat.-Sun. Dec. 3-4 KCRG-TV9 Hawkeye Challenge (Iowa City, IA)
Sat. Dec. 3 vs. San Jose State
Sun. Dec. 4 Consolation/Championship (Iowa/Vermont)
Tues. Dec. 6 at Providence*
Fri. Dec. 9 OLD DOMINION
Sun. Dec. 11 at Princeton
Wed. Dec. 14 at Ole Miss
Sun. Dec. 18 ST. THOMAS AQUINAS COLLEGE (Exhibition)
Fri. Dec. 30 TEXAS
Tues. Jan. 3 at Cincinnati*
Sat. Jan. 7 at Michigan State
Wed. Jan. 11 at South Florida*
Sat. Jan. 14 SETON HALL*
Thurs. Jan. 19 TEMPLE
Sat. Jan. 21 LOUISVILLE*
Tues. Jan. 24 NOTRE DAME*
Sat. Jan. 28 at Georgetown*
Wed. Feb. 1 ST. JOHN’S*
Sat. Feb. 4 DePAUL*
Tues. Feb. 7 at Connecticut*
Fri. Feb. 10 at West Virginia*
Tues. Feb. 14 VILLANOVA*
Sat. Feb. 18 SYRACUSE*
Wed. Feb. 22 at Marquette*
Sat. Feb. 25 at Pittsburgh*
Mon. Feb. 27 CONNECTICUT*
Sat.-Tues. March 4-7 at BIG EAST Tournament (Hartford, CT)
CAPS indicate home game
* indicates BIG EAST Conference game
All dates are tentative and subject to change
