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NORFOLK, Va. – Head coach Debra Clark and the Norfolk State women's basketball program released their 2010-11 schedule Thursday, with a tournament at Morehead State and several key non-conference matchups on tap prior to the all-important Mid-Eastern Athletic Conference schedule.
“This will be a very competitive schedule for us,” said Clark. “Our non-conference opponents will help us prepare for the teams in our league. Our ultimate goal every year is to compete with each and every team in the MEAC, and this schedule affords us that opportunity.”
Following an exhibition at home against Elizabeth City State Nov. 9, the Spartans will kick off the regular season at St. Paul's College Nov. 13. The team will spend three days at the Morehead State Tournament Nov. 19-21 before hosting Wofford Nov. 27 in the team's regular season home opener.
All weekday home games for the 2010-11 campaign will start at 6 p.m., with weekend contests slated for a 4 p.m. start.
The month of December will include the first MEAC game of the year at North Carolina A&T Dec. 4 along with a pair of road contests at William & Mary (Dec. 15) and George Mason (Dec. 29). In between, the Spartans will host McNeese State Dec. 18 at Joseph Echols Hall.
“We'll find out early where we stand as a team,” said Clark. “We'll have great preparation for our conference, and we know what is there waiting for us.”
The new year will welcome the Spartans into the heart of their MEAC schedule, as NSU will play home and away series with North Carolina A&T, North Carolina Central, South Carolina State, Morgan State, Coppin State, Hampton and Howard.
Savannah State, set to become a member of the MEAC next year, will invade Echols Hall Jan. 2 in a non-conference matchup. The two conference Florida schools, Bethune-Cookman and Florida A&M, will arrive on campus the next weekend, Jan. 8 and 10, for the usual Saturday-Monday MEAC matchups.
The Spartans hit the road Jan. 15 and 17 with a short trip across the bay to Hampton and a trek north to Washington, D.C. to take on Howard. The team will then come back home to face North Carolina Central and South Carolina State Jan. 22 and 24. Like Savannah State, the Eagles of NCCU will also become a full-fledged member of the MEAC for the 2011-12 season.
Two straight weekend road trips await the Spartans, starting with a visit to Baltimore to face Morgan State Jan. 29 and Coppin State Jan. 31. The team will head back that direction the following week as the Spartans will lock horns with Maryland Eastern Shore Feb. 5 and Delaware State Feb. 7.
Hampton and Howard then make the return trip to Norfolk Feb. 12 and 14 before NSU heads out to North Carolina Central and South Carolina State Feb. 19 and 21.
The Spartans conclude the season with three straight home games, against Morgan State and Coppin State Feb. 26 and 28 and North Carolina A&T March 3.
Winston-Salem, N.C., will host the MEAC Tournament March 8-12 for the third straight year.
The Spartans return six players from the 2009-10 team and welcome five freshmen and one junior college transfer to the 2010-11 squad. All but two of the 12 players on the current roster are either freshmen or sophomores.
Players coming back for this season include last year's leading scorer Whitney Long and four others who started at least 22 of the team's 27 total games in 2009-10.
