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University of Houston Athletics
Cougars Learn 2016-17 Non-Conference Slate
8/26/2016 12:00:00 AM | Women's Basketball
HOUSTON â€" Houston Cougar Women's Basketball Head Coach Ronald Hughey is proud to announce his team's 2016-17 non-conference schedule. The Cougars will play one exhibition and 13 regular-season games in preparation for the American Athletic Conference season with six games taking place in Hofheinz Pavilion.
"I'm extremely excited for this season," Hughey said. "We have a championship culture around our program this season and that showed with how well we gelled in Costa Rica. This is a challenging schedule with bright spots for everybody to see us against great competition, and it will be help us get ready for American Conference play which is one of the best conferences in the nation."
The Cougars open the season with an exhibition game against St. Edward's on Sunday, Nov. 6, at Hofheinz Pavilion.
The regular season begins a week later at 4 p.m., Nov. 13 when the Cougars welcome Southeastern Louisiana to Hofheinz. Houston has never lost to the Lions, sporting a 6-0 all-time record and winning the most previous matchup 73-58 on Nov. 14, 2008.
The Cougars hit the road for the first time on Nov. 15 when they travel to Las Vegas to take on UNLV. Houston completes the home-and-home with the Rebels after falling 63-60 in Hofheinz Pavilion last season. UNLV finished 2015-16 with an 18-14 record including a 9-9 mark in Mountain West play.
The 2-game road trip concludes three nights later when the Cougars trek to Long Beach, Calif., to compete against Long Beach State. LBSU welcomes Houston to town for just the second time to complete a home-and-home series that saw the 49ers defeat the Cougars 47-41 inside Hofheinz a year ago. LBSU finished with a 24-9 record in 2015-16 before losing in the First Round of the WNIT.
Houston returns home from California to face in-state rival Texas State on Nov. 23. The Cougars holds the edge in the all-time series 11-2 and own a 5-1 record at Hofheinz.
Houston will host Mercer for the first time in the two programs' history on Nov. 25. The Bears finished last season tied for first in the Southern Conference with a 24-9 (12-2) record, advancing to the First Round of the WNIT tournament where they fell to Georgia Tech 73-56.
The Cougars head back on the road on Nov. 30, looking to avenge the 55-45 loss to UTRGV at Hofheinz Pavilion last season. Houston holds a 3-1 series advantage against the team formerly known as Texas Pan-American and although the teams have never met in McAllen, the Cougars are 1-0 on the road against the Lady Vaqueros. UTRGV advanced to their first-ever WNIT appearance last season, eventually losing to TCU in the first round.
Houston's fourth matchup in front of the home crowd will be on Dec. 4, when it welcomes College of Charleston to town. The two teams have only met once in school history. Three days later, the Cougars hit the road again for a renewal with an old Southwest Conference rival when they meet Texas Tech on Dec. 7, in Lubbock, Texas. The two squads last met in December 2014.
Houston welcomes Rutgers to Hofheinz Pavilion on Dec. 10. The two teams have only met twice in school history, when each team was a member of The American Conference in 2013-14, with the Scarlet Knights winning each matchup. The Scarlet Knights are the fourth and final non-conference opponent for the Cougars to have appeared in the 2016 WNIT. Rutgers is the alma mater of current Houston basketball assistant coach Vicky Picott, who was inducted into the program's Hall of Fame in 1998.
Houston begins its longest road trip of the non-conference slate with a trip to Lafayette, La., to face the University of Louisiana. The Cougars and the Ragin' Cajuns will meet for the 10th time on the hardwood, with Houston owning an 8-1 all-time record after defeating UL in a 52-51 thriller last season inside Hofheinz Pavilion. The Ragin' Cajuns were the 2016 WBI Champions after knocking off Weber State, 87-85, in double overtime of the championship game.
The Cougars will then head to San Antonio, Texas, for the final road games of their non-conference schedule, competing in the Rae & Craig Blair Memorial Tournament, hosted by UTSA. Houston's first opponent in the tournament is the host school UTSA on Dec. 19 before facing Central Arkansas the following day.
Houston leads the all-time series against the Road Runners 19-1, while this will be the first matchup in program history against the Sugar Bears. Central Arkansas is the lone non-conference opponent for the Cougars to reach the NCAA Tournament last season, falling to Louisville in the First Round as the No. 14 seed after winning the Southland Conference Tournament.
The final matchup for Houston before conference begins will be the Lady Braves of Alcorn State. The Cougars have not faced the Lady Braves since an 85-40 win on Nov. 30, 2003, and Houston holds a 5-0 advantage in the all-time series.
The Cougars' American Athletic Conference matchups will be announced at a later date.
NON-CONFERENCE SCHEDULE
| Date | Opponent | Location |
|---|---|---|
| Nov. 6 | St. Edward's (Ex.) | Hofheinz Pavilion |
| Nov. 13 | Southeastern La. | Hofheinz Pavilion |
| Nov. 15 | UNLV | Las Vegas, Nev. |
| Nov. 18 | Long Beach State | Long Beach, Calif. |
| Nov. 23 | Texas State | Hofheinz Pavilion |
| Nov. 25 | Mercer | Hofheinz Pavilion |
| Nov. 30 | UTRGV | McAllen, Texas |
| Dec. 4 | College of Charleston | Hofheinz Pavilion |
| Dec. 7 | Texas Tech | Lubbock, Texas |
| Dec. 10 | Rutgers | Hofheinz Pavilion |
| Dec. 14 | UL-Lafayette | Lafayette, La. |
| Dec. 19 | UTSA | San Antonio, Texas |
| Dec. 20 | Central Arkansas | San Antonio, Texas |
| Dec. 28 | Alcorn State | Hofheinz Pavilion |
FERTITTA PLEDGES $20 MILLION TO ATHLETICS
Tilman J. Fertitta, globally recognized entrepreneur and Chairman of the University of Houston System Board of Regents, presented a historic $20 million gift to the University of Houston to transform the UH basketball arena into a state of the art collegiate sports facility and rename the arena Fertitta Center. Fertitta's gift is the largest individual donation to UH Athletics.
The Fertitta gift is a significant step forward in the $60 million University of Houston Basketball capital renewal project for the center's design and renovation. Design work is currently underway. Renovations and construction are scheduled to follow the 2016-17 season, with completion expected during the 2018-19 season. Plans for the Cougars' home facility during the 2017-18 season have not been finalized.
The facility will feature a premium club area and a courtside club. The reconfigured bowl will move mid-court seating locations closer to game action with floor-level seating opposite the team benches for UH students. Renovations include a new audio system, sports lighting and video boards as well as new concession stands and expanded restrooms. The facility's exterior also will be refreshed.
Prominent to the center's exterior, the renovation will preserve the legacy of the Hofheinz family and its contributions to both UH and the city of Houston. UH will transform an area adjacent to the new facility into Hofheinz Plaza, where fans will be greeted by a bronze statue of former Harris County Judge Roy Hofheinz. The University of Houston will request that city officials rename a portion of Holman Street in front of the arena after the Hofheinz family. In addition, Roy Hofheinz's records will be permanently archived and publicly accessible as a special collection in the UH library and the Alumni Center will house an area describing the lives and public service of Roy and Irene Hofheinz.
STAY CONNECTED
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