BATON ROUGE, La. — The LSU Lady Tigers, ranked No. 8 in the Athlon magazine pre-season women’s basketball poll, open a challenging 2000-01 regular-season schedule November 10 versus New Mexico in Albuquerque. The Lady Tigers’ 27-game slate, which was announced Friday by head coach Sue Gunter, features 13 teams who participated in last year’s NCAA Tournament and 10 teams ranked in Athlon’s pre-season Top 25.
“It certainly is one of the most challenging non-conference schedules we’ve had in a number of years,” said LSU head coach Sue Gunter, entering her 19th season. “Because of the strength of our conference schedule, we have to take great care in who we schedule outside the conference, not only who but also when and where we play them.
“Certainly, if we can survive the early part of the schedule, we should have adequate preparation to begin conference play. Are we up to such a schedule? Obviously, I think we are or I would not have scheduled these teams.”
LSU’s season opener against New Mexico is part of the Nov. 10-11 Women’s Sports Foundation Classic, which also features UCLA and No. 3 Duke. Other non-conference road dates for the Lady Tigers include the Paradise Jam Classic on Nov. 24-25, featuring LSU, No. 13 Penn State, No. 22 Southwest Missouri State and No. 25 Texas Tech; a November 28 meeting versus SMU in Dallas; and the Dec. 16 Blockbuster Classic, matching LSU and No. 4 Purdue in Indianapolis.
The Lady Tigers’ home schedule begins with an exhibition contest Nov. 6 in the Pete Maravich Assembly Center against Ukraine. The regular-season home opener is set for November 18, as LSU plays host to Sam Houston State. Other non-conference home opponents include No. 24 Tulane (Dec. 10), Mercer (Dec. 12), Prairie View (Dec. 18), Delaware State (Dec. 28), North Texas (Dec. 30) and Louisiana-Lafayette (Jan. 30).
LSU begins Southeastern Conference action January 4, when the Lady Tigers play at No. 2 Tennessee. LSU’s other SEC road dates are Jan. 7 at No. 19 Mississippi State, Jan. 21 at Ole Miss, Feb. 11 at Arkansas, Feb. 15 at No. 16 Vanderbilt, Feb. 22 at Florida and Feb. 25 at South Carolina.
LSU plays its first SEC home game on January 11, when the Lady Tigers entertain Arkansas in the PMAC. LSU also plays host to No. 6 Georgia (Jan. 14), Kentucky (Jan. 18), No. 19 Mississippi State (Jan. 28), Auburn (Feb. 4), Alabama (Feb. 8) and No. 2 Tennessee
“The SEC schedule is brutal, as usual,” Gunter said. “We start off at Tennessee and at Mississippi State, and then we finish the season with four of five game on the road. And, in our last home game, we play Tennessee again.”
Nevertheless, Gunter feels her squad, which returns four starters from last season’s NCAA Elite Eight team, will respond to the demanding schedule.
“Our numbers are not great, but we have some very talented young players,” Gunter said. “The challenge is a huge one, to say the least, but in order to reap the rewards we seek, we must accept such challenges.”