Sept. 2, 2011

MEMPHIS - -

Get the complete schedule by clicking here.

Six NCAA tournament teams, three additional teams with post season appearances, a trip to New York City, road games at Illinois and Missouri, two Big East opponents and 16 home games, including the season opener at FedExForum against former Conference USA foe Saint Louis on November 11th, highlight the women's basketball scheduled released Friday.

Memphis will again utilize a closed scrimmage to prepare for the season, so the team will play just one exhibition game, on Sunday, Nov. 6th, against Arkansas-Monticello. The regular season opens Friday, Nov. 11th against Saint Louis University at FedExForum at 5 p.m. Memphis and the Billikens have squared off in each of the past two seasons, with the Tigers winning on the road in the last meeting, 69-50.

That game will be the first of a three-games-in-five-day stretch to open the season. The Tigers will host Belmont University (Nov. 13th) and will travel to the University of Illinois (Nov. 15th) in that opening slate of games. The match-up with Illinois will be the third time the Tigers have faced a Big Ten program since McFerrin was hired at Memphis prior to the 2005-06 season. Last year, Memphis opened its road schedule with an 80-71 win at Indiana to give the program its first win over a Big Ten foe since Nov. 30th, 2004.

The Tigers will then return home for a five-game homestand that will include games against Arkansas-Pine Bluff (Nov. 19), Southeastern Louisiana (Nov. 22), Texas-Arlington (Nov. 27), Tennessee State (Dec. 1) and UT Martin (Dec. 4). The match-up with UT Martin will be the first of four straight games for Memphis in which the opposition went to the NCAA tournament last year. UT Martin won the Ohio Valley Conference Championship last year to advance to the tournament, while Louisiana Tech (Memphis' first round opponent in the first round of the St. John's Chartwells Holiday Classic on Dec. 17) was also an NCAA contestant last season. The Tigers will then face either host St. John's or Prairie View A&M, both NCAA contestants last season, in the second day of the New York City-based tournament. St. John's advanced to the NCAA second round last season and will mark a return to her hometown for senior guard Danay Collier.

In between the UT Martin match-up and the St. John's tournament, Memphis will venture west on I-40 to face UALR, another NCAA tournament team, on Dec. 10th.

Memphis will remain on the road to close out the fall semester, returning to McFerrin's alma mater at Missouri on Dec. 22. This will be the third meeting between the two teams in as many years, with each winning on the other's home court in the first two meetings.

The non-conference schedule will wrap up with a second Big East opponent when the Tigers host Seton Hall on Dec. 30th.

The Tigers, who will play just three home games in the month of December, will open the Conference USA slate at home against Tulane, another WNIT team last year, on January 5th. That will be followed with the team's C-USA road opener on Jan. 8th at UTEP, before a return home to host East Carolina, Jan. 15th. Memphis will then play three of the next four games on the road (at Southern Miss, at UAB and at East Carolina) sandwiched around a home game against Marshall on Jan. 26th. UAB won the Women's Basketball Invitational championship title last year.

February will feature five C-USA home games, including the final home game of the season on Feb. 26th against Tulsa, before the Tigers close out the C-USA schedule on the road at another WNIT team, Rice, Mar. 1st. Memphis will then host the Conference USA women's basketball championships for the first time since 2002-03, March 7-10th.

Season tickets are just $100 for chairback, reserved seats. Senior citizen season tickets in the chairback area are just $60. A family pass good for two adults and two children is just $125 and season tickets for Faculty/Staff are $50. General admission seats (not the chairback seats) cost just $60. Tickets are available online HERE or by calling 901-678-2331.

Get the complete schedule by clicking here.