Aug. 21, 2009
SAN DIEGO -
2009-10 SDSU Women's Basketball Schedule (As of Aug. 21) in PDF Format
Two home tournaments and a trip to the U.S. Virgin Islands highlight the San Diego State women's basketball team's highly-competitive 2009-10 non-conference schedule announced Friday by Aztec head coach Beth Burns.
"We feel this is the most challenging schedule we've ever had, and we trust that our team embraces the opportunity to be great," Burns said. "We have an exciting homestand out of the gate with USD and Arizona, and our invite to the Paradise Jam in the U.S. Virgin Islands - where two of our three opponents, Oklahoma and Notre Dame, will be preseason top five - will give us a good barometer on our team before we even hit December.
"Just prior to MWC play, in our Surf `N Slam tournament, a match-up versus Wake Forest and potentially Auburn, gives us yet another opportunity to play amongst the nation's elite."
The Aztecs start the year off with an exhibition game on Friday, Nov. 6, at Viejas Arena (formerly Cox Arena) against Point Loma Nazarene at 7 p.m. A week later, the team officially opens on the road for the fourth time in the last six years, as it travels to UC Irvine on Nov. 13, for the first meeting between the two sides since 2003.
SDSU then returns home for its annual outing with cross-town foe University of San Diego on Nov. 17, before playing host to the JHG Jam, Nov. 21. This year's event features two teams out of the Mountain West Conference, San Diego State and Utah, and two schools from the Pac-10 Conference, Arizona and UCLA. The Aztecs will take on the Wildcats in the first game at 6:30 p.m., followed two hours later by the Utes against the Bruins at 8:30 p.m.
"The inaugural JHG Jam, which is essentially a MWC-Pac 10 challenge, was created specifically for our fans to see two big-time games, as well as to showcase and fill Viejas Arena," Burns said.
Both JHG Jam contests will be shown live on The Mtn., which gives the Aztecs six televised regular-season games in 2009-10, with four on The Mtn. and a pair on CBS College Sports.
San Diego State heads to the U.S. Virgin Islands, Nov. 26-28, for three contests in three days at the Paradise Jam against Notre Dame, Oklahoma and South Carolina, completing a six-game set over just a 16-day span to end the month of November.
For the first time in four years, the Aztecs will not play their entire December schedule in San Diego, as the squad takes on four in-state foes with two at home (Pepperdine, Long Beach State) and two on the road (UC Riverside, Loyola Marymount).
The Aztecs wrap up their 2009-10 non-conference slate for the fifth consecutive season at Viejas Arena with the San Diego Surf `N Slam, which this year also features, Auburn, Valparaiso and Wake Forest. SDSU will have its first-ever meeting with the Demon Deacons on Dec. 28, starting at 5 p.m., while the Tigers and Crusaders tip-off at 7 p.m. The consolation and championship games are set for Dec. 30, at 5 and 7 p.m.
A year ago, the Aztecs came away with their first-ever Surf `N Slam title by upsetting previously undefeated and fourth-ranked Texas, 60-55, in one of the program's most memorable games.
The team will play its 16 Mountain West Conference outings from Jan. 6 to March 6, prior to the 2010 MWC championships in Las Vegas, Nev., March 9-13. The NCAA first and second rounds get underway March 20-23, at 16 on-campus sites around the country.
"As usual, MWC competition will be high, and as coaches we feel that we could get as many as five NCAA bids," Burns said. "All in all, there is a whole lot to look forward to! We hope to build on the fan support that we felt in the NCAA tournament and will continue to strive to create a great environment in Viejas (Arena)."
SDSU returns four starters from its 2008-09 squad that went 24-8 overall, advanced to the second round of the NCAA tournament and earned a share of the 2009 MWC regular season title. Season tickets start at just $60 each and are available through the Aztec Ticket Office at 619-283-SDSU.