University of Houston Athletics
Cougars release 2003-04 women's basketball schedule
9/12/2003 12:00:00 AM | Women's Basketball
Sept. 12, 2003
HOUSTON, Texas - University of Houston women's basketball coach Joe Curl released the Cougars 2003-04 schedule that has a hefty load of non-conference road games, two tournaments including the Houston Classic Tournament, and as always the challenge of Conference USA play.
The Cougars have games with traditional powerhouses Purdue, Georgia and Alabama, as well as a nationally televised game against C-USA rival TCU. Houston plays just 11 home games out of the 27 regular season games on the schedule.
"We really felt like we wanted to challenge our kids before going into conference," Curl said. "One of the things we've done with our schedule is to test ourselves. Not only at home but certainly on the road. We're going to Georgia, to Alabama, and Purdue is coming in, who is picked to win the Big 10, and are also picked by a lot of people to be in the top four in the country."
The road tests start early for Houston when they open their season at a tournament hosted by the University of Iowa. They will face off with the Gonzaga Bulldogs in their season opener and the outcome of the opening game will determine whether the Cougars will play Iowa or Butler in the second game.
"Gonzaga has a very, very good women's basketball team," Curl said. "They haven't gotten the credit that their men's team has had, but their very good. Iowa speaks for themselves. They are fighting for the Big 10 title and we're hoping we will have a shot at them on the court."
January will be the busiest month for Houston as they take on Alabama and Middle Tennessee State on the road, before taking on Texas A&M Corpus Christi at home. After the one game at home, the Cougars are on the road for four straight games and the start of C-USA play.
Houston kicks off C-USA play against Memphis on January 9th and finish their road trip at TCU on the 18th. The game with the Horned Frogs caps off a stretch of seven games in 15 days for the Cougars.
Houston will face four Texas schools this season with North Texas and Texas A&M on the road and Texas A&M Corpus Christi at Hofheinz Pavilion. Houston will take on TCU twice this season, the first meeting in January on ESPN 2, and the second meeting coming on the final day of the regular season at Hofheinz Pavilion.
Curl said the ESPN 2 game with TCU will be a big game for both teams because of the exposure they receive from being on national television.
"There's no question that that is a big game for both teams," he said. "Any time you have an opportunity to showcase your team and your conference, it is a good thing. It's good for the schools and the players as well. We get to showcase our talents."
Curl said he is happy with the 2003-04 schedule and he thinks it will present the challenges needed to make his team a contender for the C-USA title.
"We don't have a game on our schedule that we're just going to show up and win," Curl said. "We're going to have to prepare to play great basketball and consistent basketball in order to be competitive. It's a great schedule."
