September 1, 2011

Northridge Women's Basketball Announces 2011-12 Schedule

2011-12 Schedule in PDF Format

Highlighted by 13 home games and a Thanksgiving tournament featuring several top teams, the Cal State Northridge women's basketball team released its 2011-12 schedule. Under second-year head coach Jason Flowers, the Matadors will tackle a slate of regional rivals in addition to the demands of the Big West Conference season.

"It's an exciting schedule, one that should provide challenges to prepare us for our league campaign," Flowers said. "I am especially excited for our holiday tournament. To have teams like UCLA and West Virginia coming to the San Fernando Valley for a match-up that should be one of the top games in the country that weekend."

The Matadors will open the 2011-12 season with four games on the road. CSUN starts the season with a Nov. 11 contest at San Francisco and then comes back to Los Angeles to face Loyola Marymount on Nov. 14.

CSUN's next two games will take it to the Pacific Northwest with meetings against a pair of Pac 12 opponents. On No. 18, Northridge takes on Oregon State in Corvallis. Two days later, the Matadors renew acquaintances with Washington. It will mark the second-straight year the Matadors will face both the Beavers and Huskies on the hardwood.

Following the trip to Seattle, Northridge will host its 2011-12 home opener as part of the Woodland Hills Holiday Inn Thanksgiving Basketball Classic 2012. The four-team affair (West Virginia, UCLA, Colgate and CSUN) will bring in some of the top teams in country to the newly renovated Matadome.

West Virginia made its fifth NCAA appearance in the last eight seasons and was 24-8 overall in the 2010-11 season. UCLA finished the year 28-5 and advanced to the second round of the NCAA Tournament. The Mountaineers and Bruins will open the tournament with a 5 p.m. contest on Friday, Nov. 25.

The Matadors' home opener centers around a meeting with Colgate, set for 30 min. after the completion of the West Virginia-UCLA game on Nov. 25. The Raiders are under the direction of first-year coach Nicci Hays Fort and finished 7-22 last season. 

On Nov. 26, the two winning teams from the day before will square off for the tournament title following the completion of the consolation contest. Both days are slated to start 5 p.m. 

In fact, the Woodland Hills Holiday Inn Thanksgiving Basketball Classic 2012 opens a stretch for CSUN where it will play five of six at The Matadome. Northridge starts December with a home contest against Santa Clara on Dec. 1. Two days later, the Matadors will make a short trip to Malibu to face Pepperdine.

Northridge will return home for their next two games, match-ups with San Jose State and Fresno State. The Matadors and Spartans square off on Dec. 7 while the Bulldogs pay a visit to The Matadome on Dec. 11.

CSUN closes out the majority of its non-conference schedule with a return visit to the Pacific Northwest in late December. On Dec. 19, Northridge faces Oregon at Matt Arena in Eugene, Ore., and then faces Portland on Dec. 21.

The Matadors then begin their circuit around the Big West Conference, ultimately preparing for a berth in the 2012 Big West Tournament, which runs from Mar. 8-12 and the winner of which receives the league's automatic bid into the NCAA Tournament. 

Some games of note during the league schedule are the Dec. 29 meeting with UC Irvine, the league home opener for the team and also the first game of a doubleheader with the CSUN men's basketball program, which also faces UCI.

 

On Saturday, February 18, the Matadors will face UC Davis at The Matadome as part of the WBCA Think Pink initiative. All fans wearing pink receive free admission to the game as both programs work to raise the awareness level of breast cancer and its effects.

 

Finally, senior night will surround a Mar. 3 matinee with Cal State Fullerton. The club will honor its two seniors, Jasmine Erving and Bridgette Conejo, in a post-game ceremony.

 

Tickets for Cal State Northridge men's and women's basketball games can be purchased by calling the Associated Students Ticket office at 818-677-2488.

 

Photo Caption: Ryan Block (Assistant GM at the Holiday Inn Woodland Hills), Wendy McAfee (Regional Sales and Marketing Manager at the Holiday Inn Woodland Hills) and CSUN women's basketball head coach Jason Flowers are looking forward to a tough and talented Thanksgiving Tournament. (Photo Credit: Braden Villanueva, CSUN Media Relations)