Rutgers Women's Basketball Announces 2007-08 Schedule
Sep 05 | Women's Basketball
PISCATAWAY, N.J. - The 2007-08 Rutgers Women's Basketball schedule was released on Wednesday by head coach C. Vivian Stringer.
The NCAA Championship finalist Scarlet Knights will play 16 NCAA Tournament qualifiers, including six squads that were either No. 1 or No. 2 seeds.
"This is one of the most challenging schedules, if not the most demanding schedule I have ever been a part of," said Stringer. "The schedule reflects our basic attitude and the ideals the Scarlet Knights subscribe to - if you are going to be the best, you have the play the best."
Rutgers will open the season at the Louis Brown Athletic Center on Nov. 11, entertaining Pac-10 Champion Stanford. On Nov. 16, the Scarlet Knights host Creighton before hitting the road for a Nov. 18 showing versus George Washington in the Nation's Capital.
The Scarlet Knights return to the RAC (Nov. 25) for the third time in their first four games to host LSU, the team they ousted in the Final Four. Followed by a road contest at Saint Joseph's on Nov. 28, Rutgers will battle 2006 NCAA Champion Maryland on Dec. 3 at the RAC in the Jimmy V Classic.
One of the many marquee match-ups will be a showdown at Duke on Dec. 6. The Scarlet Knights upset the top-seeded Blue Devils last year in the Greensboro Regional semifinals.
Rutgers will then participate in the Maggie Dixon Classic on Dec. 8 at Madison Square Garden in New York, N.Y. RU will face Army, while Duke takes on Pittsburgh.
The Scarlet Knights continue their challenging slate with a home date with Cal on Dec. 10, traveling to Princeton on Dec. 12 and hosting Temple on Dec. 30. Rutgers begins 2008 on Jan. 2 by hosting Pepperdine.
The final non-conference game of the year will be one of the most anticipated, a rematch with 2007 National Champion Tennessee. The Scarlet Knights and Lady Vols face off in Knoxville on Feb. 11.
RU will begin BIG EAST play on Jan. 5 with a home game versus St. John's. Other home BIG EAST contests in 2008 will be Seton Hall (Jan. 12), Louisville (Jan 20), Villanova (Jan. 26), Connecticut (Feb. 5), Notre Dame (Feb. 19), DePaul (Feb. 27) and Syracuse (Mar. 1).
The BIG EAST road portion of the schedule consists of Marquette (Jan. 8), Georgetown (Jan. 15), Cincinnati (Jan. 22), West Virginia (Jan. 29), Pittsburgh (Feb. 2), South Florida (Feb. 16), Providence (Feb. 23) and Connecticut (Mar. 3). The BIG EAST had eight teams participate in the 2007 NCAA Tournament, the most of any conference in the 64-team field. The conference tournament will be conducted March 8-11 at the Hartford Civic Center in Hartford, Conn.
"Without question, we will work hard. I hope we will be able to approach the beginning of the season with healthy legs and fresh minds," Stringer added. "This schedule will expose us to the very best competition and when postseason time comes, we will be seasoned and tested."
In 2006-07, Rutgers recorded a 27-9 overall record while advancing to the NCAA Championship game. The Scarlet Knights captured their first BIG EAST tournament championship.
The 2007-08 roster includes all five returning starters - seniors Matee Ajavon and Essence Carson, juniors Kia Vaughn and Heather Zurich and sophomore Epiphanny Prince. The Scarlet Knights return nine letterwinners and have one freshman newcomer, Khadijah Rushdan.
Rutgers is also slated to have double-digit television contests in 2007-08. Television broadcast information will be released at a later date. All game dates are subject to change.
| DATE | OPPONENT | LOCATION |
TIME |
| Thursday, November 08, 2007 | China (Exh.) | RAC | 7:30 PM |
| Sunday, November 11, 2007 | Stanford | RAC | 7:00 PM |
| Friday, November 16, 2007 | Creighton | RAC | TBA |
| Sunday, November 18, 2007 | George Washington | Washington, D.C. | 2:00 PM |
| Sunday, November 25, 2007 | LSU | RAC | 2:30 PM |
| Wednesday, November 28, 2007 | Saint Joseph's | Philadelphia, Pa. | TBA |
| Monday, December 03, 2007 | Maryland (Jimmy V Classic) | RAC | 7:00 PM |
| Thursday, December 06, 2007 | Duke | Durham, N.C. | 7:00 PM |
| Saturday, December 08, 2007 | Army (Maggie Dixon Classic) | New York, N.Y. | TBA |
| Monday, December 10, 2007 | California | RAC | TBA |
| Wednesday, December 12, 2007 | Princeton | Princeton, N.J. | 7:00 PM |
| Sunday, December 30, 2007 | Temple | RAC | 2:00 PM |
| Wednesday, January 02, 2008 | Pepperdine | RAC | TBA |
| Saturday, January 05, 2008 | St. John's* | RAC | TBA |
| Tuesday, January 08, 2008 | Marquette* | Milwaukee, Wis. | 9:00 PM |
| Saturday, January 12, 2008 | Seton Hall* | RAC | TBA |
| Tuesday, January 15, 2008 | Georgetown* | Washington, D.C. | TBA |
| Sunday, January 20, 2008 | Louisville* | RAC | 2:00 PM |
| Tuesday, January 22, 2008 | Cincinnati* | Cincinnati, Ohio | TBA |
| Saturday, January 26, 2008 | Villanova* | RAC | TBA |
| Tuesday, January 29, 2008 | West Virginia* | Morgantown, W.Va. | TBA |
| Saturday, February 02, 2008 | Pittsburgh* | Pittsburgh, Pa. | TBA |
| Tuesday, February 05, 2008 | Connecticut* | RAC | 7:00 PM |
| Monday, February 11, 2008 | Tennessee | Knoxville, Tenn. | 7:00 PM |
| Saturday, February 16, 2008 | South Florida* | Tampa, Fla. | TBA |
| Tuesday, February 19, 2008 | Notre Dame* | RAC | 8:00 PM |
| Saturday, February 23, 2008 | Providence* | Providence, R.I. | TBA |
| Wednesday, February 27, 2008 | DePaul* | RAC | TBA |
| Saturday, March 01, 2008 | Syracuse* | RAC | TBA |
| Monday, March 03, 2008 | Connecticut* | Storrs, Conn. | 7:00 PM |
|
Home games in Bold * BIG EAST game | |||
