BOLIVAR, Mo. — SBU's JC Carter, head coach of Bearcats, has announced the women's basketball schedule for the upcoming season, which begins with an exhibition game against the University of Missouri in Columbia.
"It's a great opportunity for us to play Missouri," said Carter. "Our players look forward to playing teams at the highest possible level."
SBU's game with Mizzou is only the beginning of a season-opening road trip, which won't end until early December.
"As much as we'd like to play every game in Bolivar, in front of the our great fans, it's important to use road games to prepare us for our tough conference," continued Carter. "You can't take a night off with any team in the MIAA. We'll come back and play our home games from a 'road-tested' perspective. Northeastern State, for example, is a regional game. Quincy made it to the second round of the NCAA tournament. St. Mary's will be tough. They were 25-5 last season and return 4 starters, which includes their conference player of the year and freshman of the year."
The Bearcats will play their first home game on December 2 against Central Missouri, which opens their MIAA schedule. They play a non-MIAA game with Lincoln on December 6 before resuming their conference schedule in Pittsburg, Kan. on 12/13.
SBU returns three starters in Courtney Creed, Rachel Graves, and Cortney Shewmaker.
"We have a good core," said Carter. "And we're very excited about the players coming in."
Last season, the SBU women finished with an overall record of 21-10 and a league record of 11-7. They were 14-1 at home, appeared in the NCAA South Central Regional as a #5 seed, and were finalists in the MIAA tournament in Kansas City.
