The Pitt-Bradford women's basketball team announced its 2016-17 schedule Thursday, and the Panthers will officially tip-off the season Nov. 18 at the Jim Crawley Tournament in Frostburg, Md.
Pitt-Bradford will face Rutgers-Camden (N.J.) in the opening round, and the winner will meet either Frostburg State or York (N.Y.) the following day for the championship.
The Panthers are slated to play 11 homes games this season, with the home opener set for Tuesday, Nov. 22, against Penn State DuBois. The women will spend Thanksgiving weekend hosting Fredonia and travel to Houghton before opening conference play Nov. 30 at Hilbert.
The month of December will feature a quartet of games, including a non-conference tilt at Mansfield. Pitt-Bradford wraps up the first half of its schedule on the road at Mt. Aloysius Dec. 17.
The Panthers resume play in early January with three straight home games, including contests with D'Youville and Penn State Behrend, two teams that appeared in the league's postseason tournament last year.
A road trip to Medaille the second week of January signals the start of a stretch where the women will play five of seven games on the road. One schedule note, defending AMCC champion La Roche visits the KOA Arena Saturday, Jan. 21. The women return home in February for a pair of games against Mt. Aloysius and Medaille before embarking on the road one final time. Pitt-Bradford wraps up the regular season Saturday, Feb. 18, at home versus Pitt-Greensburg.
Head coach Sean Brown Sr. nearly led the Panthers to the NCAA tournament in his inaugural season last year. Pitt-Bradford, which finished third in the AMCC during the regular season, upset Penn State Behrend in the conference semifinals before falling to La Roche in the championship game. The team's 18 wins were the second-most in school history.
The women figure to be among the league's best once again with four starters back, including All-AMCC selections Ali Rinfrette and Kaserra Owens.
Pitt-Bradford opens practice Saturday, Oct. 15, and will host its annual Midnight Madness event Thursday, Oct. 27.
