The Texas A&M women’s basketball team’s non-conference schedule should present Aggie fans with some exciting, high-scoring games this season.
In the 2003-04 season, during Gary Blair’s inaugural run as head coach of the Aggies, his team finished with a 9-19 record. However, Blair’s team was 7-4 against its non-conference opponents.
It looks as if this year’s team could fare even better: Of the 10 scheduled non-conference games, only four of the Aggies’ opponents had a winning record last season.
The first four games will all come in tournament play, specifically from the Miami Jam and the Texas State Tournament.
The Aggies will open the season in Miami, Fla., against South Florida, which had a 14-15 record last year.
“We need to ready for winnable games, and South Florida certainly is winnable,” Blair said.
Possibly one of the toughest games for A&M will come against Northwestern State Dec. 19. Last year, the Lady Demons finished 24-7, and two years ago when the two teams last squared off, Northwestern downed the Aggies 65-59.
Two more tough opponents for A&M include Texas A&M-Corpus Christi and Arkansas-Little Rock.
Of the two, the Feb. 8 game against A&M-Corpus Christi is scheduled in the middle of the Aggies’ Big 12 action. Though it will be a nice break from the tough play of the Big 12 powerhouses, it won’t be an easy win for the Aggies.
The game against Arkansas-Little Rock, who went 10-17 last season under new head coach Joe Foley, will be A&M’s only non-conference road game that is not at a neutral site. The Arkansas game could be tough because the Trojans will be more experienced under Foley’s second-year system.
Two other games of note include the games against Tulane and the University of Texas-San Antonio (UTSA).
UTSA, which finished 15-14, is scheduled as A&M’s home opener with A&M leading the series against the Roadrunners 8-4.
Tulane provides an interesting match-up because it is the only non-conference team on this year’s schedule that holds an overall winning record over A&M (4-2).
Though the Aggies may seem to have a soft schedule leading up the Big 12 play in the spring months, many of the games will present big challenges and prove to be tough to come away from as victors.