Women's Basketball Announces 2011-12 Season Schedule
Tuesday, August 23, 2011 | Women's Basketball
The Florida women's basketball team will play at least 17 games during the 2011-12 season against teams that competed in the postseason last year, as the Gator's schedule was unveiled Tuesday.
Each of the first five games will be versus opponents that earned a postseason berth last year, with the first four of those being played at home in the Stephen C. O'Connell Center where the Gators enter the season riding an 11-game winning streak against non-conference foes.
Florida, which returns all five starters and 11 letterwinners from last year's squad that compiled a 20-15 overall record, launches its 39th season of varsity competition on Fri., Nov. 11 in the Stephen C. O'Connell Center against Big Ten Conference member Michigan in a game that will be the first of two home doubleheaders with the Gator men's team.
“It's a schedule that fits what our expectations are for the season,” said head coach Amanda Butler, who enters her fifth year on the UF sideline. “It's very challenging. The non-conference portion was constructed to get us ready for what's every year the nation's toughest conference schedule in the country to play. We will learn lessons in those first two months that will be challenging but it's all in preparation for the conference season.”
Florida then plays host to Stetson (Nov. 14), Florida State (Nov. 17) and Hampton (Nov. 22), before traveling to Brooklyn to play in Long Island University's Thanksgiving tournament, where the Gator's opening round opponent is Charlotte, the team that ended UF's season last year in the WNIT Round of 16.
The team has a quick turn-around to host Belmont on Nov. 29, before facing national power Rutgers at a day and location to be determined.
The Gators then travel to the West coast where they play games at San Francisco (Dec. 7) and at Pacific (Dec. 9), much to the delight of sophomore Brittany Shine, who is a native of Sacramento.
Florida then turns its focus to final exams and has a break from competition, before playing host to the annual Gator Holiday Classic, Dec. 20 and 21, featuring Charleston Southern, Duquesne and Maine. Florida concludes the calendar year hosting Samford on Dec. 28.
The team's final 16 games are all Southeastern Conference matchups. A new rotation in the league's 16-game league slate begins this season, which gets underway on Jan. 1 when the Gators play host to Kentucky in the first of two meetings. The return game in Lexington takes place on Jan. 22.
Florida also battles Georgia (in Athens Jan. 12, home on Feb. 19), South Carolina (home Jan. 8, in Columbia Feb. 12), LSU (home Jan. 15, in Baton Rouge Feb. 2) and Ole Miss (in Oxford Jan. 5, home Feb. 5) twice in conference action this year, while playing a single game against Alabama (home Jan. 19), Arkansas (in Fayetteville Jan. 29), Auburn (home Feb. 9), Mississippi State (home Feb. 23), Tennessee (in Knoxville Feb. 26) and Vanderbilt (in Nashville Feb. 16).
The SEC Tournament returns to Nashville's Bridgestone Arena for a second consecutive season, being held March 1-4.
2011-12 Florida Women's Basketball Schedule
Nov. 11 MICHIGAN (DH)
Nov. 14 STETSON
Nov. 17 FLORIDA STATE (DH)
Nov. 22 HAMPTON
Nov. 25 vs. Charlotte (1)
Nov. 26 vs. LaSalle or LIU (1)
Nov. 29 BELMONT
Dec. 7 at San Francisco
Dec. 9 at Pacific
Dec. 20 CHARLESTON SOUTHERN (3)
Dec. 21 MAINE or DUQUESNE (3)
Dec. 28 SAMFORD
Jan. 1 KENTUCKY*
Jan. 5 at Ole Miss*
Jan. 8 SOUTH CAROLINA*
Jan. 12 at Georgia*
Jan. 15 LSU*
Jan. 19 ALABAMA*
Jan. 22 at Kentucky*
Jan. 29 at Arkansas*
Feb. 2 at LSU*
Feb. 5 OLE MISS*
Feb. 9 AUBURN*
Feb. 12 at South Carolina*
Feb. 16 at Vanderbilt*
Feb. 19 GEORGIA*
Feb. 23 MISSISSIPPI STATE*
Feb. 26 at Tennessee*
March 1-4 at SEC Tournament (4)
*Southeastern Conference game; (1) Long Island Univ. Tournament – Brooklyn, N.Y.; (2) vs. Rutgers – Ocean Center in Dayton Beach, Fla.; (3) Gator Holiday Classic – Gainesville, Fla.; (4) SEC Tournament – Nashville, Tenn.
