Baylor and UConn to meet November 16, Baylor vs. Tennessee on December 14

Baylor is set to meet reigning national champion Connecticut this season on November 16. The Lady Bears will also match up against four other teams that saw 2010 NCAA Tournament action: Tennessee, Liberty, Notre Dame and Michigan State.

“We have assembled the toughest non-conference schedule in program history,” said Baylor head coach Kim Mulkey. “I feel that our program is at a point that we will benefit tremendously by playing a tough schedule. In addition to playing at Connecticut, we’ve got Tennessee and Notre Dame, among others, coming to the Ferrell Center. Baylor fans will see a lot of All-Americans playing in Waco this season.”

While Baylor met UConn in last year’s NCAA Final Four, the two teams have never met during the regular season. The Lady Bears will travel to Connecticut in a made-for-TV event. The Huskies travel to Waco for the 2011-12 season game.

The Tennessee Lady Vols make their first Ferrell Center appearance on December 14. Baylor and Tennessee split their two games last season. The Lady Vols won the season opener in Knoxville (74-65) while the Lady Bears downed Tennessee in the NCAA’s Sweet 16 in Memphis, 77-62.

Overall, Baylor’s home slate features three teams that posted over 23 wins last season and two teams with 25 or more wins appear on its road schedule.

Baylor returns four starters from last season’s team that finished the year with a 27-10 mark: guards Kelli Griffin, Melissa Jones and Shanay Washington and All-American post Brittney Griner.

Baylor’s 16-game Big 12 schedule will be announced at a later date. The Lady Bears play home and away games against Big 12 South foes Oklahoma, Oklahoma State, Texas, Texas A&M and Texas Tech, will host Iowa State, Kansas State and Missouri and play at Colorado, Kansas and Nebraska.

2010-11 Baylor Lady Bear Non-Conference Basketball Schedule
NOVEMBER

1 Mon. – St. Edward’s University (EXH.), Waco

5 Fri. – Texas A&M International (EXH.), Waco

12-14 Fri.-Sun. – World Vision Invitational, Waco

(Baylor, Florida International, Montana State, Rice)

16 Tue. – at Connecticut, Hartford, Conn.

19 Fri. – Michigan State (Big 6 Challenge), Waco

23 Tue. – Texas Southern, Waco

26 Fri. – Liberty, Waco

28 Sun. – Southeastern Louisiana, Waco

DECEMBER

1 Wed. – Notre Dame, Waco

5 Sun. – Minnesota (Big 10-Big 12 Challenge), Waco

14 Tue. -  Tennessee, Waco

21-22 Tue.-Wed. – at Bahamas Sunsplash Shootout, Nassau, Bahamas

21 – Syracuse

22 – Clemson

30 Thur. – UT-Pan American , Waco