CHARLESTON, S.C. - Road trips to ACC opponents North Carolina State and Wake Forest highlight the 2012-2013 Charleston Southern women’s basketball slate in their first season under head coach Fred Applin as CSU released the schedule on Wednesday afternoon.
15 of the Lady Bucs’ 27 scheduled games come inside the friendly confines of the Buc Dome, where Charleston Southern went 11-3 just one season ago. A New Year’s Eve battle against local rival College of Charleston is sure to bring excitement along the way as CSU looks to build off last season’s semifinal appearance at the Big South Conference Championships and Women’s Basketball Invitational postseason berth.
"I'm very excited about this year's schedule. We are starting in the Big South/SoCon Challenge against UNCG and playing two ACC teams in Wake Forest University and N.C. State," commented Applin about how the schedule lays out. "We have several home contests and early season travel that will prepare us for the Big South conference.
CSU opens the 2012-2013 season on the road in their first appearance in the annual Big South/SoCon Challenge as the Lady Bucs travel to Asheville, N.C. to take on UNC Greensboro at Kimmel Arena on the campus of UNC Asheville on Nov. 10.
The Lady Bucs return to Charleston, S.C. and the Buccaneer Field House as CSU welcomes NCAA Division II opponent Southern Wesleyan to the court on Nov. 14 for their home opener. CSU has been victorious in their home opener in each of the past five seasons, with one of those victories coming against the Warriors, 73-58, back in 2007.
Charleston Southern faces a tough test in their next matchup, traveling to Reynolds Coliseum and Raleigh, N.C. to take on N.C. State on Nov. 20. This will be the first matchup between the Buccaneers and the Wolfpack in program history.
A quick turnaround brings CSU back to the Field House where Charleston Southern takes on Paine College on Nov. 24, before opening Big South Conference play at the end of the month in Clinton, S.C. on Nov. 28 as the Lady Bucs take on the Blue Hose of Presbyterian in the conference opener for both teams.
The month of December begins with another contest against another ACC opponent as Charleston Southern travels to Wake Forest on Dec. 1. This will be the third time over the past six seasons the Lady Bucs have played multiple nonconference games against teams from the ACC, having taken on the University of North Carolina and Clemson in 2009-2010, and Clemson and Miami in the 2007-2008 seasons.
CSU returns home and closes out the year with four consecutive home games, starting on Dec. 12 against S.C. State. Games against Trinity Baptist (Dec. 17) and Western Carolina (Dec. 19) give way to an 11 day break, before the Lady Bucs ring in the new year by taking on local rival College of Charleston on Dec. 31. The Buccaneers have won their past two matchups against the Cougars, including this past season’s 64-45 victory inside CofC’s TD Arena in downtown Charleston.
CSU opens their conference slate in full in the first week of January jumps back into conference play with road contests on Jan. 3 against High Point and Jan. 5 against Coastal Carolina. Charleston Southern and High Point each defended their home court last season, with the Buccaneers avenging an earlier defeat to the Panthers with a 77-72 victory in their annual WBCA PinkZone Game. The Buccaneers have taken five of their past six games against Coastal, including both contests last season.
The following week brings Liberty and conference newcomer Longwood to the Buc Dome on Jan. 10 and Jan. 12. Liberty topped CSU three times in the past season, including knocking out the Lady Bucs at the Big South Championships on their way to the NCAA Women’s Basketball National Tournament. Longwood returns seven letter winners from their 2011-2012 team which finished 7-22 overall under head coach Bill Reinson.
Charleston Southern returns to the road with conference trips to Winthrop (Jan. 17) and Radford (Jan. 19) before beginning their second four game home stand of the season, featuring UNC Asheville, Gardner-Webb, Radford and Winthrop.
CSU fell for the first time in over three years to the Bulldogs last season and look to right the ship when Asheville comes into town on Jan. 24. The Lady Bucs swept Gardner-Webb last season behind Erin Bratcher’s combined nine treys over the two games in topping the Runnin’ Bulldogs on the road, 63-53, and inside the Buc Dome, 86-66, and look to keep up the winning streak on Jan. 19 against GWU. Charleston Southern and Radford each defended their own home courts this past season and will take each other on Jan. 31, while CSU opens the month of February at home against Winthrop (Feb. 2) after splitting with the Eagles this past season.
Return trips to UNC Asheville (Feb. 7) and Gardner-Webb (Feb. 9), give way to home contests against Presbyterian (Feb. 16) and Coastal Carolina (Feb. 21) as the regular season begins to wind down.
Charleston Southern honors its 2012-2013 women’s basketball seniors Kiki Rutledge, Shay Jones, Rachelle Coward, Helen Terry and Lakeitha Alston before their final home game of the season Feb. 23 against Campbell.
Road trips to Longwood (Feb. 28) and Liberty (Mar. 2) close out the 2012-2013 regular season, giving way to the VisitMyrtleBeach.com Big South Basketball Championships.
The Big South premier postseason event will be held this season from March 5-10 at the HTC Center on the campus of Coastal Carolina University.
With 10 upperclassmen on the team, including five seniors, and a new coaching staff in place, the Lady Bucs are primed to translate past success into a promising future this season.