Marshall University Athletics
Marshall Women' Basketball Releases 2003-04 Schedule
8/27/2003 12:00:00 AM | Women's Basketball
Marshall Women?s Basketball Releases 2003-04 Schedule
8/27/2003
HUNTINGTON, W.Va.?The Marshall women?s basketball team opens the 2003-04 season with six consecutive home games as the Thundering Herd attempts to climb even higher in the Mid-American Conference standings in head coach Royce Chadwick?s third season at the helm. In 2002-03, Marshall placed fourth in the MAC East Division and won their first ever Mid-American Conference Tournament game.
?We?re excited about our pre-MAC schedule and the second year of the Fifth Third MU Classic,? Chadwick said. ?It is a tough schedule, but we set it up that way because we felt we had the personnel for it.
?We?re all looking forward to it, and people in the community are, too. The Herald Dispatch, Pepsi, Eagle Distributing, and St. Mary?s Hospital have all signed on as game sponsors for this year, and we?re thrilled about that. It should be an exciting year.?
The Herd host the second annual Fifth Third MU Classic on November 21st and 22nd when Morgan State, Murray State, and High Point invade the Cam Henderson Center. Radford makes a return trip to Huntington on the 25th after Marshall visited the Highlanders in 2002-03 to close out play in the month of November.
December 2nd is slated for the Herd?s third annual Jam the Cam Promotion, with the goal being to set the Mid-American Conference attendance record of 5,661 fans. This year?s opponent: Wake Forest. The Demon Deacons bring ACC women?s basketball to Huntington for the first time since the 1988-89 season, when North Carolina participated in the Lady Herd Classic. Ten thousand fans have walked through the Cam Henderson Center turn styles in the last two years of the event.
?Jam the Cam III will be a tremendous event,? Chadwick said. ?There is a great amount of anticipation for this year?s game. That night creates a buzz for the entire city of Huntington.?
Austin Peay closes out the home portion of the non-conference schedule. The Lady Governors visit on December 15th.
Marshall then hits the road for five straight games, with the Herd?s big trip scheduled for Texas-Pan American and Texas A&M on December 19th and 21st. On December 30th and 31st, MU participates in the Lehigh University Tournament, which includes host Lehigh, Mississippi, whom the Herd faced last year in the SunSplash Shootout, and Mount St. Mary?s.
Marshall?s MAC opener is a tough one on the road at Ball State. In the next three games, the Herd faces off against MAC East runner-up Kent State at home, Ohio on the road, and 2002-03 MAC champion Western Michigan at home.
The rest of the MAC schedule is tough, with consecutive road games against Buffalo and Central Michigan on January 17th and 24th, respectively, and three straight games on the road in the middle of February at MAC East champion Miami, West champion Toledo, and Kent State.
The end of the conference season is in the friendly confines of the Henderson Center, where the Herd close out the 2003-04 regular season campaign with four consecutive home games. Included in those games is a scheduled Mid-American Conference television game on Fox Sports Ohio against Northern Illinois on February 22nd.
?The MAC schedule is extremely tough,? Chadwick said. ?We start off the year playing some outstanding basketball teams, with only three home dates in January. Those road games really test your maturity early.
?On the other hand, we close the season with four games at home. It?s always about how you finish, so it?s great to be in Huntington at crunch time.?
Not to be overlooked is the Herd?s annual game with West Virginia. The date on that game is tentatively set for January 21st.
Marshall?s first exhibition game is slated for November 1st, while the first day of practice begins on October 18th.
