University of Massachusets Athletics
Women's Basketball Schedule Released
September 10, 2004 | Women's Basketball
Sept. 10, 2004
AMHERST, Mass. -- University of Massachusetts women's basketball head coach Marnie Dacko has released the schedule for the 2004-05 season today. The Minutewomen will play 11 non-conference games, including three at home. The Minutewomen will face two teams in non-conference play who made the NCAA Tournament last year.
"I like the schedule we have put together for this season," said Dacko. "We will play or could potentially play teams from the ACC, Big East, Conference USA and Pac-10. This will be a good experience for our players to get a taste of what it is like to play against NCAA-caliber teams. Challenging the team in this way will help to prepare us for the rigors of the A-10 title race."
The Minutewomen open the 2004-05 regular season in Chicago, Ill., by participating in the Moran Reality Classic hosted by DePaul University, Nov. 19-20. UMass will face Southern California in the first round and then either DePaul or Murray State the next day. After a game at Holy Cross Nov. 23, the Minutewomen will host Boston College in the home opener at the Mullins Center, Nov. 27. This is the first meeting between these two schools since the 1999-2000 season. BC advanced to the Sweet 16 of last year's NCAA Tournament.
Massachusetts then plays a road game at Providence on Dec. 1 before hosting Syracuse and Toledo in back-to-back home games. The Minutewomen and Orange will meet for the third annual "Rage In The Cage" on Dec. 4 at the Curry Hicks Cage and then go back to the Mullins Center for a game against the Toledo Rockets on Dec. 6. UMass closes out the non-conference slate with four straight games away from Amherst. Massachusetts will play at Hofstra on Dec. 9 and Siena on Dec. 12.
Following final exams and the holiday break, the Minutewomen will participate in the Terrapin Invitation, hosted by the University of Maryland. UMass plays Maryland on the first day. The Terrapins advanced to the second round of last year's NCAA Tournament. The Minutewomen will then face either Marshall or Elon in the second round.
UMass begins the conference part of the season on Jan. 4 at Temple. The Minutewomen close out the season with three out their last four games at home.
After a 6-22 season in 2003-04, the Minutewomen have four starters returning, including senior Edris Bailey (Mt. Hope, Trinidad & Tobago), who led the team in scoring, and also welcome five freshmen to the roster. In addition, UMass bolsters its roster with the return of senior Katie Nelson (Ellicott City, Md.), who redshirted last year due to an injury, and senior Patrycja Gulak (Olsztyn, Poland), who had to sit out after transferring.
