MACOMB, Ill. - Western Illinois women's basketball head coach JD Gravina announced the Leathernecks' 2015-16 schedule. The announcement, which came on Tuesday (July 14), features 16 home games for the Purple and Gold.Â
"We really tried to put together a balanced non-conference schedule. We continued to focus on regional rivals such as Illinois-Chicago, Chicago State, Eastern Illinois, Illinois State, and SIU-Edwardsville. Our trip to Florida should be a good experience for our team and help us prepare for tournament style games. Playing Iowa and Kansas State will also give our team some major challenges to help us prepare for our Summit League games," said Gravina. "Our conference schedule will be tough as ever. It will be exciting to start and end the conference with home games. We'll have some tough travel weekends, such as going from South Dakota to Oral Roberts, but we will try to get creative with our travel."
Western kicks off the season with a pair of exhibition games against William Woods and Truman State. The contest against the Owls of William Woods (Oct. 30) will be the sixth straight year the two teams have met while Western's game against Truman State (Nov. 5) will be the first meeting between the two programs since 2002.
The Leathernecks open the regular season on Friday, November 13, as they play host to Central Methodist in the first-ever meeting between the two programs. Western wraps up the weekend of competition with a Sunday contest against Southern Illinois-Edwardsville.
The Purple and Gold then hit the road for the first time in 2015 to take on Iowa on Thursday, November 19. The Hawkeyes, one of two "Power Five Conference" schools that Western will face in 2015-16, are coming off a NCAA Sweet 16 appearance a year ago and have appeared in the NCAA Tournament in each of the past eight seasons.
Western returns home to face Chicago State on Saturday, November 21, before hosting Southeast Missouri State in the second-annual 'Elementary Day' on Tuesday, November 24. Last season, the Leathernecks set a program attendance record during the first-ever event, as 1,443 fans packed Western Hall to see Western defeat Kansas City.
The Leathernecks will spend the Thanksgiving holiday weekend in Jacksonville, Fla., as they take part in the University of North Florida Classic. On Friday, November 27, Western will square-off against Towson while tournament host UNF plays Bethune-Cookman. The two Friday winners will meet on Saturday (Nov. 28) to determine the champion while the other two schools will meet in the third-place game. Western has never faced any of the other three programs in the tournament.
WIU hits the road for a mid-week tilt on Wednesday, December 2, as bragging rights are on the line in a game against Eastern Illinois in Charleston. A quick stop back home to take on Ashford University (Dec. 5) ensues before Western goes on the road once again to take on North Dakota. The return trip of a home-and-home agreement will have the Leathernecks and North Dakota meeting in Grand Forks on December 8.
Western's final home game on the non-league slate is on Saturday, December 12, as former Leatherneck head coach Regina Miller brings her UIC squad to Macomb.
Gravina's team will then take on their second "Power Five" member of the year when they travel to Manhattan, Kansas, to face Kansas State. The Wildcats, members of the Big 12 Conference, reached the second round of the WNIT a season ago.
The Purple and Gold close out 2015 with a Monday, December 28, road game against Illinois State. After seeing one another for 20 consecutive years from 1972 until 1992, this will be the first meetings with the Redbirds since the 2008 season.Â
Western rings in the New Year with a January 1 game against Oral Roberts inside Western Hall. The contest kicks off Summit League play, which will once again feature home-and-home contests with every league school. Other home contests during league play feature IUPUI (Jan. 9), Denver (Jan. 15), South Dakota (Jan. 27), Omaha (Jan. 30), and Fort Wayne (Feb. 4). The Leathernecks will end the regular season at home with a pair of league contests. Western will first face North Dakota State on Thursday, February 25, before closing out the regular season with Senior Day on Saturday, February 27, against South Dakota State.
Road games for WIU will include trips to Omaha (Jan. 3), Fort Wayne (Jan. 7), North Dakota State (Jan. 21), and South Dakota State (Jan. 23) during the first half of league play. The second half features a stretch of four-straight games away from home as the Leathernecks travel to face IUPUI (Feb. 6), Denver (Feb. 10), South Dakota (Feb. 18), and Oral Roberts (Feb. 20).
Sioux Falls, South Dakota will once again be the location for the Summit League Women's Basketball Championship, set to be held March 5-8 at the Denny Sanford Premier Center.
The complete schedule, with known start times, can be found HERE.
