Anne Westwood Higbee Records 1,000th Point as Thunderbirds Post 51-48 OT Victory

Women's Basketball 7/2/2008 6:00:00 AM Southern Utah Athletics

Five In-State Opponents and Nebraska Highlight Lady T-Bird 2008-09 Slate

CEDAR CITY, Utah ? July 2 ? Southern Utah women's basketball will play five in-state schools and travel to UNLV, Nebraska and Boise State, highlighting the 2008-09 schedule with the exhibition opener scheduled for Nov. 1 against Dixie State.

“We wanted to put together a challenging schedule and think overall that what we have is great,” head coach Steve Hodson said. “We will be tested early, but have a great balance of home and away games with 16 games in the Centrum and 15 games on the road.”

Following the game with Dixie State, SUU will host Mesa State in a final exhibition warm-up before opening the season with UC Davis in the Centrum on November 14.

The Lady T-Birds will then take their first road trip of the season, traveling to UNLV and Nebraska, Nov. 18 and 22.

“UNLV is a team that has gone through a coaching change recently, but because of their proximity they are a team that we want to have on our schedule regularly,” Hodson said. “Nebraska is a team that came close to advancing to the Sweet 16 last year in the NCAA tournament and returns everybody.”

Southern Utah will then return home for a game with Idaho State, another team with a first-year head coach, before heading back on the road for games at BYU and Boise State.

Oakland and IPFW will be the first conference teams for the Thunderbirds with games in the Centrum Dec. 6 and 8, followed by two more home games against Northern Arizona and Western Oregon.

“We had to start the conference season on the road last year, so being able to open Summit League play at home will be a good change for us this year,” Hodson said. “The game with Western Oregon will be right after finals and will give our team the chance to work out some kinks before heading into the conference season.”

SUU will play two more in-state programs before beginning the rest of its Summit League slate with a road game at Utah State and a home contest against Westminster.

“It will be very important for our team to open the season strong,” Hodson said of the games leading up to Westminster on Jan. 1. “Our team is very young and a good start will help the freshmen and new players get settled in the system.”

The first conference road swing will follow New Year's Day with games at IUPUI and Western Illinois on Jan. 3 and 5 before a game with UMKC in the Centrum on Jan. 10. Utah Valley will be the final non-conference opponent and fifth in-state school on the Thunderbirds scheduled when Southern Utah travels to Orem on Jan. 13.

Home games against South Dakota State, North Dakota State and Western Illinois will bookend road games at Oral Roberts and Centenary to finish out the month of January.

“The three conference home games in early January will be an important stretch for us,” Hodson said of the games against UMKC and the Dakotas. “It is critical to hold serve when you are at home.”

Southern Utah will spend most of February on the road with four road games at UMKC (Feb. 7), North Dakota State (Feb. 14), South Dakota State (Feb. 16) and IPFW (Feb. 28), compared to just three home games against IUPUI (Feb. 2), Centenary (Feb. 21) and Oral Roberts (Feb. 23).

The Lady T-Birds will make their final stop in Detroit, Mich. for a road game at Oakland University on March 2 before heading to Sioux Falls, S.D. for The Summit League Tournament March 7-10.

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