UH Cougars release 2011-'12 women's hoops schedule

POSTED: September 6, 2011 -- 3:46 p.m. CDT

Todd Buchanan, head coach of the UH Houston Cougars women's basketball team, announced the 2011-2012 schedule for his club today.

"This is an outstanding non-conference schedule for us," said Buchanan. "The good news is, with such a young team coming in, we have the luxury of playing the majority of these games at Hofheinz. We'll have some incredible challenges, which at the end of the day is how you become a consistent top 25 team, and we're going to continue to raise the bar."

The Cougars will once again face an exciting and challenging non-conference slate that features contests against seven teams that made an appearance in the postseason in 2011. Eight of the 12 games will be played at Hofheinz Pavilion and will feature teams from seven different conferences, including the Big 12, Big East and Pac-12.

Fourteen contests against teams that reached the postseason a year ago and 16 total home games highlight the 2011-12 University of Houston women's basketball schedule.

The Cougars see their first action on November 7 by playing host to St. Thomas University in an exhibition contest.

Houston officially kicks off the 2011-12 campaign on November 11 with a rematch against New Mexico State at Hofheinz, followed by another home contest against Big 12 foe Texas Tech on November 16.

Houston faces its second-straight NCAA Tournament squad when it takes to the road for the first time on November 19 in Washington, D.C., against Georgetown, who advanced to last season's Sweet 16.

The Cougars host the inaugural David Jones Classic over Thanksgiving Weekend, honoring the late assistant coach who served at Houston from 1999-2006. Houston will face Ivy League member Yale on November 25 and McNeese State the following day in a doubleheader with the men's basketball program.

The Cougars play C-USA home-and-away series against SMU, Tulsa, UTEP, Rice and Tulane, with single meetings against Marshall, Southern Miss, UAB, Memphis, East Carolina and UCF.

"I think this schedule speaks for itself," Buchanan said. "It's going to be pretty electric for us, in the sense of creating a phenomenal fan base, because we're certainly going to need our sixth man in the stands to help us with the energy.

"Our alumni season ticket holders really stepped up last year, but our student body has to come out and support," Buchanan continued. "We desperately need them to come out and create a positive atmosphere for us and make it hard for the opposition."

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