General | 9/28/2016 4:00:00 PM

2016-17 Georgia Southern Women's Basketball Schedule

STATESBORO – Georgia Southern head women's basketball coach Kip Drown unveiled the Eagle's 2016-17 non-conference schedule Wednesday afternoon, completing the 2016-17 schedule. The 11 out-of-conference games include five home contests and six on the road.

"We are excited about our 2016-17 schedule that we believe will be very balanced and competitive for our team," Drown said. "We are looking forward to opening the season at home against North Carolina A&T who made the NCAA tournament last season. With the addition of Coastal Carolina to the Sun Belt we will now play an 18-game conference schedule along with 11 non-conference games highlighted with trips to Clemson, Alabama and Indianapolis. This should be a very exciting season and we are looking forward to getting started."

Out of the 11 non-conference opponents, four teams advanced to a national tournament last season, including three teams that participated in the Women's National Invitation Tournament (WNIT). Also included in this year's slate of out-of-conference games will be four teams the Eagles played last year. GS went 3-1 in those games.

Before opening the regular-season, the Eagles will host Coastal Georgia on Tuesday, Nov. 1 for an exhibition. It will be the second year that the two programs will have played a preseason exhibition in Statesboro.

Georgia Southern's regular-season will officially begin with a pair of home games on Friday, Nov. 11 and Sunday, Nov. 13. The Eagles will tip off the season against North Carolina A&T and then turn their attention to the Night Hawks of Thomas University. Last season, the Aggies of N.C. A&T finished with a 19-12 record, including a 12-4 mark in Mid-Eastern Athletic Conference (MEAC) action. The Aggies claimed the MEAC's automatic bid to the NCAA Tournament with a 65-46 win over Coppin State in the MEAC Tournament Championship Game.

Following the game with the Night Hawks, the Eagles will hit the road for the first time, beginning a stretch of four straight road games that will take the team through South Carolina, Alabama and Indiana. First on the schedule will be a game at Clemson on Wednesday, Nov. 16. The Eagles will then travel to the state of Alabama for games at Jacksonville State and Alabama. GS and JSU will renew acquaintances on Sunday, Nov. 20 and the Eagles will then travel to Tuscaloosa where they will take on the Tide on Tuesday, Nov. 22. Last season, the Gamecocks of JSU went 10-18 and fell 60-56 in overtime to the Eagles inside Hanner Fieldhouse. Alabama went 15-16 a season ago and advanced to the first round of the WNIT.

Georgia Southern will close out the first road trek of the season with a trip up to Indianapolis, Indiana, on Nov. 26 where the Jaguars of Indiana University – Purdue University Indianapolis (IUPUI) await. The 2015-16 Jaguars went 21-11 overall, 11-5 in the Summit League, and advanced to the second round of the WNIT.

The Eagles will return home on Tuesday, Nov. 29, closing out the first month of the season against in-state rival Mercer. The game against the Bears will serve as Georgia Southern's second-annual Field Trip Day where local elementary and middle schools are invited to attend the game. Last year, over 1,500 students from five elementary and middle schools attended the Eagles' first-annual Field Trip Day. Mercer went 24-9 last season – the best record of Georgia Southern's non-conference opponents – and finished their Southern Conference (SoCon) slate with a 12-2 record. Mercer was invited to the WNIT after coming up just short in the SoCon Tournament Championship Game.

Following Field Trip Day against the Bears, the Eagles will hit the road for the final time in 2016 for a pair of games against two opponents from the 2015-16 campaign. On Thursday, Dec. 1, GS will travel the short distance to Savannah to take on the Tigers of Savannah State University. The Eagles will then head up the coast to Charleston, South Carolina to take on Charleston Southern on Monday, Dec. 12. Last season, GS recorded the first win of the Kip Drown era when the Eagles defeated SSU 64-48 in Savannah.

Georgia Southern will close out the non-conference portion of their schedule with a pair of home games against Central Florida and S.C. State. The Knights of UCF will travel to Hanner Fieldhouse for a game on Saturday, Dec. 17 before the Bulldogs roll into town on Thursday, Dec. 22.

Georgia Southern's Sun Belt Conference opener will be on Saturday, Dec. 31 against in-state rival Georgia State. The Eagles will host their annual Pack the House in Pink Night on Saturday, Feb. 4 against UL Monroe and Senior Day will be held on Saturday, Feb. 18 against Texas State.

The Sun Belt Conference Tournament will be contested Mar. 8-12 in New Orleans, La. Every team will be invited to the tournament beginning this season.

The Eagles are currently scheduled to play four games on the ESPN family of networks, including three home games on ESPN3. The road game at Alabama will be featured on the SEC Network+. The home games on Jan. 5 against South Alabama, Jan. 19 against Coastal Carolina and Feb. 4 against UL Monroe will all air on ESPN3.

During the 2016-17 campaign, the Sun Belt Conference will step away from the previous format of men's and women's basketball doubleheaders on both Thursday and Saturday. This season, women's teams will play on Thursday and Saturday with the men's teams playing on Saturday and Monday.

2016-17 Georgia Southern Women's Basketball Schedule