USCA WOMEN'S BASKETBALL ANNOUNCES 2007-08 SCHEDULE
LADY PACERS OPEN NEW ERA IN 3,600-SEAT CONVOCATION CENTER
AIKEN, S.C.--USC Aiken women’s basketball head coach Mike Brandt announced the Lady Pacers 2007-08 schedule on Thursday afternoon. The challenging slate will feature 15 home games, 20 Peach Belt Conference contests, and six games against teams that participated in last year’s NCAA South Atlantic Regional. USC Aiken finished 20-9 in 2006-07, winning the Peach Belt Conference North Division title at 11-5 in league play. Click Here for a complete schedule listing. (PHOTO BY: Scott Webster)
With the loss of conference member USC Upstate to the Division I ranks, the PBC will move away from divisional play for the second time in three years and, with 11 members, will play a home-and-home series with each school.
Excitement surrounds the team’s season opener against perennial region power Catawba on November 20. Not only will the Tuesday tip-off feature an early season clash of 20-win teams from a year ago, but it will also be the first-ever women’s basketball game held at the brand new, 3,600-seat Convocation Center.
“This schedule is one that will prove to be very challenging and competitive,” said Brandt, 83-66 in his sixth season. “We set it up to play as many home games as possible against tough competition in preparation for the PBC Tournament. Facing two Division I teams on our home floor will certainly challenge us.”
The opening Saturday of the season will pit the two top finishers of last year’s PBC standings against one another. Clayton State won the PBC South Division and the overall league title with a 12-4 record, advancing to the NCAA Division II Final Four. The Lady Pacers finished in sole possession of second place at 11-5 and were the only conference team to upset the nationally-ranked Lady Lakers on their home floor, winning 68-64 on January 27.
Returning home for a Sunday, November 25 date with Coker College, the Lady Pacers kick off a five-game homestand. Archrival Augusta State comes to town on Wednesday, November 28 for the second league game of the year. USCA defeated the Lady Jags 69-62 on a nationwide CSTV internet broadcast in Aiken, and won 59-49 in the quarterfinals of the 2007 PBC Tournament.
Armstrong Atlantic State travels to the Convocation Center for a December 1 showdown with the Lady Pacers at 5:30 PM followed by Winston-Salem State on Monday, December 3. The Rams, formerly of the CIAA, are a Division I member of the MEAC and will be the first Division I team to ever compete in the Convocation Center. USC Aiken knocked off the Rams 61-56 in Winston-Salem last year.
A home game with Converse on December 7 and a road contest at Montevallo on December 15 will sandwich final exams and conclude the 2007 portion of the Lady Pacers’ schedule.
Following an 18-day layoff for the holidays, the Lady Pacers will resume the season on January 2 with a non-conference clash at CIAA-power Shaw at 5:00 PM. The Bears went 18-10 in 2006-07, and have hosted the NCAA South Atlantic Region three of the past five seasons. The game also kicks off what might prove to be the Lady Pacers toughest stretch of the year with five of their next six games away from the friendly confines.
On January 5, the Lady Pacers travel to Dahlonega, Ga. for a date with North Georgia and then hit the road for a Saturday showdown with long-time rival Francis Marion in Florence on January 9. Jami Cornwell, the Lady Pacers’ NCAA all-time leading scorer, is in her first year as an assistant coach with the Patriots.
A home conference game with Georgia Southwestern on January 12 is positioned amidst four road PBC match-ups.
USC Aiken travels to Columbus State and Augusta State in mid-January to finish off the semester-opening road stretch before returning home to host Lander and Georgia College & State. Playing at UNC Pembroke on January 30 closes out the month.
After opening February with a road game at Armstrong Atlantic State, the Lady Pacers will host six of their final nine regular season opponents, beginning with Francis Marion on February 6.
North Georgia comes to town on Saturday, February 9 as USC Aiken Athletics will celebrate their first “Homecoming” in the new facility.
The final Division I opponent of the season comes to the Convocation Center on February 13 as Presbyterian will take on the Lady Pacers at 7:00 PM.
USC Aiken closes out the month of February with games at Georgia Southwestern (Feb. 16) and Lander (Feb. 20) and home dates with UNC Pembroke (Feb. 18), Columbus State (Feb. 23), and Clayton State (Feb. 27).
In a crucial late season showdown, the Lady Pacers travel to Milledgeville, Ga. for a Sunday, March 2 game against GCSU to close out the regular season.
For the first time in school history, USC Aiken will play host to the Peach Belt Conference’s crowning event, the 2008 PBC Basketball Tournament. Running March 4-9, the tournament will feature all the teams of the Peach Belt Conference, both men’s and women’s, and will culminate in crowning tournament champions and handing out the league’s automatic bids to the NCAA Tournament.
“With the conference going back to the 20-game schedule, which I personally think is the fairest to get a conference champion, we will be challenged by all conference teams,” said Brandt. “I am sure each team will want to come in and win their game in our building and try to get that winning feeling on this court as they will return for the tournament in March.”
Brandt welcomes back four starters and a junior-led team for the 2007-08 season.