Complete Release and Schedule (.pdf)
CHICAGO - DePaul head coach Doug Bruno announced today the 2003-04 schedule for the women's basketball team. Holding a 14-game home court winning streak, the Blue Demons play 14 games at the DePaul Athletic Center this season. DePaul's current home-floor streak is tied for the seventh-longest in women's college basketball.
"This season's schedule will be a challenge for our team," said head coach Doug Bruno. "With 13 opponents that played in the postseason last year, we will have our work cut out for us. Our busy schedule in December will get us ready for the always competitive Conference USA season."
Following a pair of exhibition games, the Blue Demons host the Moran Realty Classic, Nov. 21-22. DePaul welcomes Ball State, Northwestern State and Wisconsin-Milwaukee to the DePaul Athletic Center for the two-day event. On Friday, Northwestern State plays Ball State at 6 p.m. followed by DePaul and Alabama State. The two winners will play on Saturday after the consolation game.
December will be a busy month as the club plays 10 games before the holiday break. The month starts with a Big Ten flavor as they travel to Northwestern and host Illinois. The Blue Demons head east the second weekend of December as they play at Holy Cross on Dec. 6 and Manhattan on Dec. 9. Following a Dec. 12 game at Illinois-Chicago, DePaul plays four straight home games.
Southern Illinois comes to Chicago on Dec. 14 followed by Tennessee on Dec. 17. The Lady Vols are the first of three straight 2003 NCAA Tournament teams as DePaul hosts Alabama State on Dec. 19 and Valparaiso on Dec. 21. Overall, the Blue Demons face 13 postseason teams from a year ago, including 10 NCAA teams. Prior to the holiday break, the team makes the short trip to Rogers Park for an afternoon game at Loyola-Chicago.
The Blue Demons play their final non-conference game of the season on Jan. 3 at Northern Illinois. It will be the first appearance for the Blue Demons in NIU's Convocation Center. Conference USA play opens with a pair of home matchups against Louisville and Cincinnati. The Cincinnati game will be the first of at least three televised games this season. The Blue Demons and Bearcats will tipoff at 3 p.m. on ESPN2.
Three of the final five games in January will be on the road beginning with contests at UAB and USF. DePaul plays at UAB on Jan. 16 before heading to Tampa for a Sunday afternoon game with the Bulls. The Blue Demons host Southern Miss on Jan. 23 and take on Tulane at the DePaul Athletic Center on Jan. 25. January ends with a road game at Charlotte on the 31st.
The month of February opens at East Carolina before the squad plays three consecutive home games. The Blue Demons host Marquette on Feb. 8 before entertaining Saint Louis and Memphis the following weekend. The regular season ends with three road games at Houston, TCU and Marquette. The TCU and Marquette games will be televised on the C-USA Television Network. The annual Conference USA Tournament will take place Mar. 4-7, at the Daniel-Meyer Coliseum at TCU. The winner of the tournament will receive the league's automatic bid to the NCAA Tournament. A year ago, Conference USA sent a record five teams to the field of 64.
