Sept. 8, 2008

2008-09 Schedule l Printer Friendly Schedule

HOUSTON - The University of Houston women's basketball team this week announced its 2008-09 schedule, which will see the Cougars take on a challenging slate of non-conference action before jumping into Conference USA play.

UH will be boosted this season by the return of head coach Joe Curl, who missed all of last season due to medical issues. The nine-year veteran of the Cougar bench enters the upcoming campaign as the second winningest coach in program history with 142 career victories, trailing only Dot Woodfin, who notched 175 wins for the Cougars from 1976-85.

Final preparations for the campaign will take place at home on Nov. 10 against the Houston Jaguars in an exhibition match-up.

The games begin to count on Nov. 14 as Houston kicks off its 33rd season of women's basketball by hosting Southeastern Louisiana in a 5:30 p.m. match up at Hofheinz Pavilion. Following the opener, the Cougars will take the court for a second straight day at home, entertaining Gardner-Webb at noon on Nov. 15.

UH will hit the road for the first time on Nov. 19 as it travels west to face Oregon State at Corvallis, Ore. After a home match up against Miami on Nov. 21, the Cougars will face three consecutive opponents from the state of Texas as they travel to TCU on Nov. 25 before returning to the Metroplex on Dec. 2 to battle North Texas.

Cross-town rival Texas Southern will make the short trip to Hofheinz Pavilion on Dec. 5 and nine days later on Dec. 14 Cal Poly will visit Houston.

Just prior to the holiday break, the Cougars are New York City bound as they head north to take part in the St John's Classic, Dec. 20-21.

A home date against Akron on Dec. 28 and a New Years Eve date with the Kansas Jayhawks in Lawrence, Kan., round out the non-conference slate.

Conference USA play begins for the Cougars on Jan. 9 as they travel to the Crescent City to face Tulane.

An ESPN2 national TV audience will see Houston's next contest as it faces defending C-USA regular season champion, UTEP, on Jan. 11 in El Paso, Texas. The Miners took the league title a year ago by putting together a perfect 16-0 run in league play.

UH will take to its own court for the first time against a conference opponent on Jan. 16 and Jan. 18 as it hosts UAB and Memphis, respectively, at Hofheinz Pavilion, before a Jan. 22 road trip finds the team at Southern Miss. On Jan. 22 the Cougars welcome UCF to Houston before leaving town for back-to-back road affairs at SMU on Jan. 29 and at Tulsa on Jan. 31. The Mustangs made headlines last season as they knocked off top-seeded UTEP in the 2008 C-USA Championship game, after finishing second to the Miners during the regular season.

The month of February will see the Cougars host five straight home contests at Hofheinz Pavilion, starting on Feb. 8 against Rice. Tulane, UTEP, SMU and Tulsa will also visit Houston, before road trips to Marshall and East Carolina conclude the regular season.

New Orleans, La., will be the site of the 2009 Conference USA Championships as from March 5-8 the league's 12 teams will vie for the league's automatic bid to the NCAA Championships.

The date for UH's return trip to Rice has not been set yet by the conference office, but will be listed on www.uhcougars.com as soon as the date is finalized.

Fans can purchase tickets for the upcoming Cougar basketball campaign by calling 713-GO-COOGS or 1-877-COUGAR-5 or logging on to www.uhcougars.com.