Savannah State Releases Women's Basketball 2015-16 Schedule

SAVANNAH, Georgia -- Savannah State University women's basketball team announces the 2015-16 schedule Wednesday, which consist of three teams that made the NCAA Tournament last season.

SSU starts off the season with an exhibition game against crosstown rival Armstrong State in the "Battle in the Marsh" on Nov. 3 at 6 p.m. in Tiger Arena. Last season, the Lady Tigers defeated ASU 96-84 in Tiger Arena.

For the fourth year in a row, the Lady Tigers open the season against Columbia College in Tiger Arena on Nov. 13 at 7 p.m. In the previous three matchups, SSU has defeated CC, including a 106-60 win last season. Overall, the Lady Tigers have won their last 11 openers.

The Lady Tigers host Auburn on Nov. 22 at 4 p.m. Last season, SSU fell to AU 62-56 on the road. The last time SSU hosted an SEC team was last season, when Florida traveled to Savannah and the Lady Tigers won 68-58.

"Auburn's a game that stands out on the schedule, for several reasons," head coach Cedric Baker said. "One, they're an SEC team, two, we played them close last year and three, how often do we see an SEC team come to Savannah and play a school of our size."

Savannah State enters its road schedule with two SEC matchups against Florida on Nov. 24 and Mississippi State on Nov. 29, who made the NCAA Tournament last season. Last season, the Tigers defeated UF 68-58 at Tiger Arena.

"We have a rematch with Florida," Baker said. "That's going to be exciting. We were able to come with a win in that battle last year. We are looking forward to our trip to Gainesville and then of course we will take a trip down to Mississippi State. Mississippi State is a competitive team. They've made their mark in the SEC Tournament last season."

The Lady Tigers host its final home game of 2015 with a game against in-state rival of Georgia Southern on Dec. 2 at 6 p.m. This will be the first time the two teams have played against each other since 2004-05.

"We're excited about getting Georgia Southern back on the schedule and also excited about getting to play them at home," Baker said. "The last time we played them and we defeated them here in Savannah in an overtime win. We shot the lights out of the ball that night. But we are excited about Georgia Southern, 45 minutes up the road. We are excited to reestablish this rivalry."

The next six games are on the road for SSU, starting with Alabama State on Dec. 5, followed by Rutgers, who made the NCAA Tournament last season, on Dec. 13. The Lady Tigers then travel to Jacksonville, Ala., to face Jacksonville State on Dec. 15 and to Oklahoma State on Dec. 27, who made the NCAA Tournament last season.

"We've got to go up to Rutgers University," Baker said. "Vivian Stringer is an icon when it comes to women's basketball. It's an opportunity to expand our brand in that area, which always helps with recruiting. The better kids want to play the better teams. So, we want to send a message that you are going to play at a Division I school, but also you are going to play at a high level and on a big stage. We'll go out to a further distance to Oklahoma State and then we'll get into our conference schedule."

SSU plays its first conference game against Florida A&M on Dec. 31 in Tallahassee, Fla., then travels for a nonconference game against Jacksonville University on Jan. 2 before hosting the next five games. Last season, the Tigers went 2-0 against FAMU, but fell to Jacksonville 45-41 at Tiger Arena.

"Our first conference game will be against FAMU and they have been, out of the MEAC schools, one of the established rivalries we have," Baker said. "That's a game that we look forward on our schedule, a game that we really want to win and we see them twice a year."

The five-game homestand starts with Allen University on Jan. 4 at 6 p.m., followed by N.C. A&T State on Jan. 9 at 4 p.m., the first MEAC home game of the season. The Lady Tigers won 95-47 against Allen last season and went 2-1 against A&T.

N.C. Central travels to Savannah on Jan. 11 at 4 p.m., followed by Maryland Eastern Shore on Jan. 16 at 4 p.m. and concludes the homestand with Delaware State on Jan. 18 at 6 p.m. Savannah State went 1-1 against UMES, including a win in the MEAC championship game; 2-0 against NCCU and 1-0 against DSU last season.

Then the Lady Tigers next four games are on the road, starting with a trip to Hampton on Jan. 23 and Norfolk State on Jan. 25. The final two games on the roadstand is N.C. A&T State on Jan. 30 and Bethune-Cookman on Feb. 2. SSU won the only matchup between Hampton and Norfolk State, but fell to Bethune-Cookman in the only matchup last season.

The Lady Tigers return home with two games against Morgan State on Feb. 6 at 4 p.m. and Coppin State on Feb. 8 at 6 p.m. before returning back on the road for two games against South Carolina State on Feb. 13 at 4 p.m. and Howard on Feb. 20 at 6 p.m. Savannah State went 2-0 against CSU and SCSU last season and won the only matchup against MSU and HU.

South Carolina State travels to Savannah on Feb. 27 at 4 p.m., while the Tigers travel to Durham, N.C., for a game against N.C. Central on Feb. 29 at 6 p.m. The Lady Tigers host the final game of the season against Florida A&M on March 3 at 6 p.m.

The MEAC Championship is from March 7-12 at Norfolk, Va., which the Tigers will be defending their title. Last season, the Lady Tigers defeated Coppin State, 66-52, N.C. A&T State, 62-59, and Maryland Eastern Shore, 65-47, to capture its first MEAC championship.

"We'll get a lot of attention going into the conference," Baker said. "There's probably a star by Savannah State on everybody's board that they definitely want to compete and give their team confidence by knocking off the defending champions. We are going to get everybody's best each and every night."
 
SSU Women's Basketball 2015-16 Schedule

COURTESY SAVANNAH STATE UNIVERSITY SPORTS INFORMATION