Texas State Women’s Basketball Releases 2016-17 Schedule

SAN MARCOS, Texas – Head coach Zenarae Antoine and the Texas State women’s basketball team announces its 2016-17 schedule, one that features 14 home games at Strahan Coliseum and 15 road contests, on Monday. The Bobcats will compete in 18 conference games and 11 non-conference games including a contest against Baylor in Waco, Texas.

“This season, there are multiple aspects of our schedule that will look different from previous seasons,” said Antoine. “We will exclusively be playing in the state of Texas for our non-conference schedule while our conference structure has been adjusted with the addition of Coastal Carolina.”

Texas State opens up the season on the road against Southern Methodist on Nov. 11. This is the first time in over 20 seasons that the Bobcats and the Mustangs will face off with the last meeting coming in 1994. SMU holds a 5-3 advantage over Texas State.

After the season opener in Dallas, the Bobcats return home for three-straight games starting with the home opener against Incarnate Word on Nov. 15. Texas State will play Incarnate Word for the first time since 1982 and all-time, the ‘Cats are 2-0 against the Cardinals. In her five-year tenure at Texas State, Antoine is a perfect 5-0 in home openers.

The next two home games for Texas State are against Texas A&M-Corpus Christi on Nov. 18 and Texas Southern on Nov. 20. Antoine owns a 3-1 record against the Islanders and this will be her first meeting against Texas Southern.

After the home stand, Texas State hits the road for three more games against Houston on Nov. 23, I-35 rival UTSA on Dec. 1, and Big 12 foe Baylor on Dec. 6. Last season, the Bears earned one of the No. 1 seeds at the NCAA Tournament after being crowned champions of the Big 12 Conference. Baylor was ultimately knocked out in the quarterfinal game against Oregon State. Baylor finished the season ranked No. 2 in the NCAA RPI.

After a stop back home on Dec. 10 against St. Edwards, the Bobcats will travel to Prairie View A&M to take on the Panthers on Dec. 16. The final home non-conference game is against the Bearkats of Sam Houston State on Dec. 19. Texas State holds a 2-1 edge over Sam Houston State during Antoine’s tenure.

The final non-conference game for Texas State is on the road at North Texas. Last year, Taeler Deer scored a career-high 32 points to help led Texas State to a 64-62 victory over the visiting Mean Green. The win over North Texas came just after the Mean Green defeated No. 17 Oklahoma for the first time in school history.

“I have fondly called our pre-season schedule the ‘Taste of Texas Tour’,” said Antoine. “It is the first time during my tenure that we have exclusively been in the state of Texas for all of our preseason games.  Our schedule includes every Division I conference (with the exception of the SEC) in the state.”

The conference schedule for the Bobcats opens up on Dec. 29 when they host Sun Belt Conference newcomer Coastal Carolina at Strahan Coliseum. This marks the first-ever meeting between the Bobcats and the Chanticleers. Texas State is at home for the first three conference match-ups with Appalachian State on Dec. 31 and UT Arlington on Jan. 7.

Coastal Carolina is the only newcomer in the conference this season. The Chants join the Sun Belt after competing in the Big South Conference.

This season, the conference will utilize an 18-game conference schedule for each men’s and women’s basketball program.

Texas State will face every team in the Sun Belt at least once with seven schools appearing on the schedule twice. Coastal Carolina, Appalachian State, UT Arlington, Troy, South Alabama, UL Monroe, and UL Lafayette are the teams that Texas State will play twice in conference play. The ‘Cats will not make the trip to Arkansas for games against Arkansas State and Little Rock and they will also not host Georgia State and Georgia Southern.

New to this season, women’s basketball games will be played on a Thursday–Saturday schedule while men’s basketball games will be played on a Saturday-Monday schedule. The dates of play will reverse for the 2017-18 season with the men’s basketball games being played on Thursdays and Saturdays and women’s basketball games being played on Saturdays and Mondays.

Texas State finished the 2015-16 conference schedule with a 7-13 record and a seventh place regular season finish.

Overall, the conference schedule includes 18 games, dropping from 20 the previous seasons. All 12 men’s and women’s basketball teams will travel to the 2017 Sun Belt Conference Men’s and Women’s Basketball Championships as the tournaments return to New Orleans and the Lakefront Arena for a fourth consecutive season.

“The change in the conference structure mixed with our Texas-based non-conference schedule will be exciting for our fans and players alike,” concluded Antoine.

Schedule Link: http://txstatebobcats.com/schedule.aspx?schedule=171